Feel like you’ve finally got all the essential security protections in place? Here are the next-level cyber security moves that belong in your budget in 2026.
Over the past few years, many organisations have made significant strides in improving cyber security. Multi‑factor authentication is widely adopted, email security has improved, backups are more reliable, and firewalls are no longer an afterthought.
So it’s a fair question: Have we finally ticked all the essential security boxes?
The short answer is: You’ve likely covered the “essentials”— but the goalposts are always moving.
Here’s what we’re navigating right now.
Smooth Criminals
While foundational controls like MFA, endpoint protection and patching remain essential, the threats targeting organisations today are more adaptive, more automated and increasingly powered by AI.
Cybercriminals can now use AI to:
- Create highly convincing phishing and impersonation attacks
- Automate reconnaissance across complex IT environments
- Accelerate ransomware campaigns and data‑only extortion
The Australian Cyber Security Centre continues to report rising costs and impact from cyber incidents, particularly those exploiting legacy technology, poor visibility, identity, misconfiguration and third‑party risk rather than “traditional” malware techniques. In other words, it’s no longer just about stopping viruses—it’s about:
- Protecting identities, access and trust,
- Controlling supply chain and third-party risk, and
- Transitioning to modern, adaptable, visible and reportable tools and architectures.
Tighter Compliance and Regulation
Security maturity is also being pushed from another direction: Regulation.
Across Australia, organisations are seeing increased expectations around:
- Documented risk management and incident response
- Stronger governance over privacy, data and identity access
- Responsible use of AI, particularly where automation influences decisions
The Australian Government’s National AI Plan and updated policies for responsible AI use make it clear that organisations can’t treat AI as “just another app”—governance and security must be built in from day one.
Even where new laws haven’t yet been finalised, the direction of travel is clear: prove your controls, don’t just assume them.
Business Costs, Wage Pressures & Increasing Prices
All of this is happening at a time when budgets are under pressure.
Inflation re‑accelerated at the end of 2025 and interest rates remain elevated, with the Reserve Bank signalling no rate cuts “on the horizon for the foreseeable future” stance into 2026. For many businesses, borrowing costs, wage pressure and vendor price rises are converging.
That makes “buy everything” security strategies unrealistic.
The focus now needs to be on smarter, risk‑based investment in resiliency building, not simply more tools.
What to Prioritise in 2026
If you’ve already addressed the core controls, the next phase of security investment should prioritise depth, resilience and visibility, not just coverage.
Based on the ASD’s Australian Cyber Security Centre Recommendations and our experiences on the front lines of cyber security, here are the features we recommended cyber-invested organisations prioritize next.
- Identity Threat Detection & Response (ITDR)
Monitoring misuse of credentials, privilege escalation and suspicious login behaviour—because identity is now the primary attack vector. - Security posture and configuration management
Reducing risk from misconfigurations across Microsoft 365, cloud services and endpoints before attackers find them first. - AI governance and data protection
Controls around how AI tools access data, how prompts are managed, and how sensitive information is protected—especially as Copilot and other AI tools become embedded in daily work. - Incident readiness, not just prevention
Tested incident response plans, immutable backups, and clearer decision‑making frameworks for executives when something does go wrong. - Ongoing visibility, not one‑off projects
Continuous monitoring, reporting and review—so security keeps pace with change rather than falling behind after a “once‑a‑year” refresh.
How Maxsum Can Assist
Most organisations are no longer starting from zero—and that’s a good thing. But ticking the essential boxes doesn’t mean the job is done.
Security in 2026 is about adapting to faster threats, meeting higher expectations, and doing more with constrained budgets. The organisations that will cope best aren’t the ones that spend the most—but the ones that invest where risk is actually increasing.
If you’re unsure what that next‑phase security budget should look like for your environment, now is the right time to review—not after an incident forces the decision. 2026 is the right time talk to us about:
- Managed IT Security – An ongoing managed service add-on that augments essential security protections with Managed Endpoint & Identify Threat Detection & Response, Continuous threat monitoring, incident logging and reporting, as well baseline and automated security posture and configuration management.
- Cyber Incident Response Planning – including CIRP reviews, advisory, creation and live in-person table-top exercises and CIRP testing.
- AI Governance and Planning Workshops – delivered via your choice of Executive Briefing, Governance and Strategy Building Workshop, or Pilot Project Scoping and Planning.
Contact us to secure time with one of our Security Leads to discuss your next best move.
