This year, one of our favorite tech terms got an AI makeover.

“Shadow IT”—a familiar expression referring to employees’ unauthorized use of hardware or software—is so 2022. Now it’s all about shadow AI.

According to IT pros who spoke with IT Brew, the challenge of detecting and monitoring the near-daily arrival of new generative AI products will continue.

“We’re still in the infancy of AI,” Jeff Collins, CEO at observability platform WanAware, told IT Brew. “A lot of us would like to think that every organization on the planet is using AI. There’s a lot of organizations out there, especially in the user population, that aren’t using it today. The realm of shadow AI will continue growing substantially through 2026.”

Have at IT! A Cybernews survey of 1,000 US employees, published Sept. 30, found that 59% said they use AI tools unapproved by their employers. According to the study, 77% of companies have an official policy for usage of personal AI, and 52% of employers provide approved AI products.

How shadow AI could become a serious threat over the next 12 months.—BH

Are cyberattackers winning?

As we head into 2026, there’s still a significant dearth of cybersecurity professionals available to protect critical infrastructure, and AI tools can’t fully replace human expertise. But the picture is more complex if you look closer.

Cash out. Richard Bird, Singulr AI CSO, told IT Brew that attackers have at least one major advantage—the AI environment is more favorable to their interests.

“The barriers to entry for being a bad guy have dropped substantially,” Bird said. “Whatever I can’t build myself, I can rent, lease, or buy.”

AI comes up. HackerOne CEO Kara Sprague sees things slightly differently—that 2025 was a year when attackers won some advantage due to AI-driven code and other technological innovations. Cybersecurity has always been asymmetric on one side or the other, and 2026 is likely to continue to follow this trend.

What to expect in cyberattacks…and cyber defense.—EH

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