Cyber Fraud Now Top CEO Fear, Overtaking Ransomware Threat

Cyber fraud tops CEOs' 2026 digital threat concerns, surpassing ransomware, with AI vulnerabilities rising.

Jan 14, 2026

ON THIS PAGE

Cyber fraud has surpassed ransomware as CEOs' biggest digital threat concern, according to the World Economic Forum's 2026 Global Cybersecurity Outlook released Monday. The shift marks a dramatic change from previous years when ransomware dominated executive fears.

A striking 73% of CEOs were personally affected by cyber fraud or knew someone who was in 2025, while 77% believe these attacks increased over the past year. The new top three CEO concerns are cyber fraud, AI vulnerabilities, and software exploitation—notably pushing ransomware off the list entirely.

Interestingly, CISOs still rank ransomware as their primary worry, suggesting different priorities between financial and operational leaders. AI concerns have also evolved, with executives now more worried about employees accidentally exposing data through internal AI tools than hackers weaponizing artificial intelligence.

Source: Security Week

Have questions about protecting your software?

Our escrow experts are standing by to help.

Book a free demo

Want more insights like this?