Manufacturers have long been concerned about downtime, safety and supply chain disruptions. In 2026, add one more to the top of that list: AI-driven cyberattacks that move faster than your team can react.
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Already, we’re seeing attackers use AI to comb through conference attendee lists, harvest email addresses and titles and launch convincing phishing and text-based scams within hours.
In one recent incident, a company’s executives attended an industry event. By the end of the same day, attackers had used publicly posted attendee details to compromise a key approver and move millions of dollars out of the organization – start to finish – in just a few hours.
That’s the leading edge of what’s coming next. For midmarket manufacturers, 2026 is expected to be a pivotal year where AI, operational technology (OT) exposure and chronic underinvestment in security collide.
Here are four new or growing risks I believe will define the year ahead, and how manufacturing leaders can prepare now.
1. We will see the first fully AI-orchestrated cyberattack end-to-end
We’re already seeing AI used for reconnaissance, including scanning open sources, social media and your own website to map people, processes and systems. The next step is a start-to-finish AI attack, where a managing agent coordinates every stage delegated to other agents:
- Reconnaissance
- Initial access
- Lateral movement
- Exploitation
- Extortion
In 2026, we will likely see the first widely reported incident in which AI agents play the role of the attacker end-to-end, operating at machine speed and scaling across many systems and organizations at once.
For manufacturers, the danger extends beyond corporate IT. Modern plants have connected programmable logic controllers (PLCs), sensors and control systems that were never designed with cybersecurity in mind. Many organizations have connected decades-old equipment to modern networks, gaining efficiency, but also opening new pathways for attackers.
What to do now
- Assume an attacker can move from reconnaissance to action in hours, not weeks.
- Map how someone could pivot from IT into OT and ensure OT has the same level of protective controls as IT.
- Test your ability to detect and contain attacks at “machine speed.”
2. Small and midsize manufacturers will become the preferred targets
AI changes attacker economics. If reconnaissance, credential harvesting and social engineering can be automated, targeting midmarket companies becomes more profitable, not less, due to the lower cost to the attacker to breach many organizations — each with a lower level of security control, over larger enterprises.
That’s exactly what we’re seeing now. The majority of the serious incidents crossing our desks during 2025 are not at massive companies; they’re occurring at small and midsize organizations that:
- Haven’t invested in enterprise-grade detection and response
- Lack 24/7 monitoring
- Rely on IT generalists, or even facilities staff, to manage IT and OT security
- Provide minimal security awareness training
In the past few months, wire fraud attacks in particular have been exploding. AI makes it easy to impersonate executives, mimic communication patterns and time fraudulent requests when leaders are traveling or distracted. The number and dollar value of wire fraud cases we’ve handled this year exceeds prior years combined.
For many midmarket manufacturers, the uncomfortable truth is this: You’re now an easier and more profitable target than a major enterprise.
What to do now
- Benchmark against large-company security maturity, not peers.
- Consider managed cybersecurity services for 24/7 monitoring and response.
- Make ongoing security awareness training a priority for both IT and finance teams.
3. Nation-state activity will likely rise and federal regulation will likely follow
Alongside opportunistic AI-powered attacks, we are also seeing an increase in nation-state activity targeting U.S. critical infrastructure. Geopolitical tension is unlikely to fade in 2026. As it continues, the risk to water utilities, power companies and industrial facilities grows.
Manufacturing sits squarely in the crosshairs: It serves as a critical supplier to sectors like food, pharmaceuticals, defense and transportation. It operates in environments where OT and IT are deeply interconnected. Unlike other highly regulated industries, it remains largely unregulated from a cybersecurity standpoint.
Many OT environments run on aging technology that cannot be patched easily. Even when perimeter defenses are strong, the underlying systems are fragile and attractive to highly sophisticated adversaries.
If today’s attempted attack volumes continue, 2026 could be the year federal agencies push for:
- Stronger OT security requirements
- Mandatory incident reporting
- Greater cross-sector resilience standards
Cybersecurity in this context isn’t political; it is basic national resilience.
What to do now
- Start treating OT cyber risk like a safety and product-quality risk.
- Inventory and segment OT systems, especially safety-critical ones.
- Make sure incident response plans explicitly address OT disruption scenarios.
4. Cyber leadership will (hopefully) continue to move up the organizational chart, but not nearly fast enough
Cybersecurity is slowly gaining board-level attention. However, in many midmarket manufacturers, the function still sits too low in the organization.
We routinely see cybersecurity leaders positioned too low in the organization, with CISO level and sometimes even titled roles with salaries at levels comparable to senior engineers and security leaders reporting under CIOs who are primarily incentivized around IT uptime and operational efficiency rather than risk reduction.
This misalignment is a major vulnerability and can stop major security risks from being discussed or addressed. At the same time, many midmarket organizations are recognizing that they likely can’t build all cyber capabilities internally. This is driving the continued rise of managed cybersecurity services and virtual CISO models.
What to do now
- Ensure someone with true cybersecurity strategy expertise has direct access to the CEO and board.
- Align incentives around risk management, not just IT transformation.
- Use external partners to fill specialized gaps while retaining strategic oversight.
What manufacturers should prioritize in 2026
While you can’t control how attackers use AI or how global tensions evolve, you can control how well you’re prepared.
Three priorities rise to the top:
- Fight AI with AI. Integrate AI-enabled detection, investigation and response. Machine-speed attacks require machine-speed defense.
- Take OT security seriously. Treat OT cyber risk with the same rigor as safety and quality.
- Elevate cyber risk to senior leadership. Cybersecurity is now a core business function, not a back-office IT activity.
For midmarket manufacturers, 2026 doesn’t have to be the year cyber risk catches up to you. With the right preparation, it can be the year you finally close the gap.
Paul Truitt, Partner, National Practice Leader IT Risk and ComplianceForvis Mazars
