Cybersecurity Planning for 2026: What You Should Be Doing Now

Every January, we sit down with clients who tell us the same thing: “We thought we had more time.” Cybersecurity threats evolve fast. Insurance requirements tighten without warning. Compliance frameworks expand. And yet, most strategic plans treat security like a budget line item instead of a critical path.

To stay ahead in 2026, the work begins now.

1. Cloud-First Isn’t Optional Anymore

Your infrastructure strategy should already prioritize cloud flexibility. If it doesn’t, you’ll be stuck when insurance carriers, auditors, or regulators ask for forensic snapshots, MFA policies, or immutable backup schedules you can’t deliver from on-prem gear.

Hybrid cloud remains the best fit for most SMBs, balancing performance, cost, and resilience. But what matters most is clarity. You need to know where your data lives, how it's secured, and who’s accountable for it.

The big move for 2026? Could you shift your incident response architecture to cloud-native tools? These provide better forensic visibility, reduce restore times, and ensure compliance with cyber insurance demands, which now often include 30–45-day evidence holds following a breach.

2. Insurance Is Driving Security Strategy

Cyber insurers have become some of the most influential forces in IT risk management. And they’re tightening the screws.

If your policy hasn’t been denied yet or renewed with clauses you didn’t understand, you’re lucky. Underwriters are demanding more substantial proof of endpoint detection, response plans, backup integrity, and employee training. No EDR? No multi-factor authentication? Expect higher premiums or flat-out rejection.

Start preparing for your next renewal now. Run a threat assessment. Map it to CIS Top 18 controls. Document your safeguards. Your CFO will be very grateful.

3. Training Needs to Keep Up

The phishing emails we see today don’t look like the ones from five years ago. They’re more innovative, more targeted, and often come from hijacked accounts.

Your training program should evolve the same way.

Build a program that simulates real-world attacks. Train by role, your finance team needs different awareness than your warehouse crew. And don’t just do it once a year. Ongoing campaigns reinforce habits and provide you with measurable insights into who’s improving and where the risks still exist.

Solve-IT includes this in our Advanced Security Bundle for a reason. It's the difference between hoping your team doesn’t click and knowing they won’t.

4. Don’t Let Compliance Be the Bottleneck

HIPAA. CCPA. SOC 2. GDPR. More frameworks are coming, and enforcement is no longer theoretical. If you work in finance, healthcare, or any regulated industry, you’re already feeling the squeeze.

The challenge isn’t knowing you need compliance. It’s about building an operational rhythm that becomes ingrained without creating drag.

The fix? A documented, audited IT playbook. Patch policies. Access controls. Backup validation. Security reporting. All aligned to the framework that fits your industry and insurer.

Ensure that your IT team, whether internal or outsourced, can demonstrate their capabilities. If they can’t, it’s time to look for one that does.

What’s Next?

Planning for 2026 doesn’t mean buying more tools. It means knowing your posture, reducing guesswork, and having a trusted partner who holds you accountable.

At Solve-IT, we help clients simplify the complex. Whether it’s through co-managed IT that supports your team, or fully managed services that let you sleep at night, our mission is the same: reduce risk, improve resilience, and make IT feel like less of a fight.

Book your free threat assessment today. We’ll show you exactly where you stand and what to do next.