Preparing for 2026: Security Priorities

With the year drawing to a close, security leaders are planning for 2026. Here are the priorities we recommend based on what we've seen across engagements.

Schedule Your Red Team

If you haven't run a red team or penetration test in 2025, schedule one for early 2026. Attack surfaces change constantly. A point-in-time assessment is better than nothing. Scope it now so you're ready.

Prioritise Authorisation

Broken access control remains the top finding. Fix your authorisation. Test it. Verify that users can't access what they shouldn't. Red team engagements consistently find IDOR and privilege escalation — fix the root cause.

Consider Continuous Validation

Annual testing isn't enough for many organisations. Consider ODS-Intrude or similar for continuous validation — automated reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery, and exploitation. It fills the gap between manual engagements.

Plan for 2026

Budget for red team, penetration testing, and continuous security. Plan early. We're here to help. Contact us for a confidential discussion about your 2026 security programme.

Operational Implications

The key takeaway from this topic is execution discipline: identify exploitable paths early, assign ownership quickly, and validate remediation under realistic conditions. Teams that operationalise security into release and change workflows generally reduce high-risk exposure windows and avoid repeat findings.

Use this insight to prioritise what is exploitable now, what can chain into broader impact, and what should be validated again after fixes are deployed. Evidence-led prioritisation consistently produces faster and more durable risk reduction than checklist-only approaches.

Implementation Checklist

• Define a clear owner for each critical finding and remediation deadline.
• Validate exploitability before and after remediation with reproducible evidence.
• Document impact in business terms for leadership, not just technical severity.
• Schedule follow-up verification so fixes are confirmed, not assumed.

Related Next Steps

Translate this topic into action by aligning the right engagement model to your current risk profile. For targeted validation, start with Security Services. For practical examples of measurable outcomes, review Case Studies. You can also browse the latest guidance in our blog archive.

Need a Practical Plan?

If you want this assessed against your own environment, we can scope it quickly and provide an evidence-focused route to remediation. Get in touch and we will recommend the most effective next step based on your architecture, timeline, and risk priorities.