Security budgets are rising in every region and industry in 2026. Forrester’s Budget Planning Guide says 55% of global security and technology leaders expect a significant security budget increase for the year ahead, and Gartner projects worldwide security spending will reach $240 billion, up 12.5% from $213 billion in 2025. 85% of organizations increased cybersecurity spending this year, and nearly nine in ten expect to raise budgets again in 2026. Yet more money hasn’t brought more confidence: over half of security leaders say their organizations still don’t invest enough to manage risk. This guide covers where the extra money is going, why priorities are shifting, and how CISOs can spend it for the most impact.
Why the Security Budget Increase Is Accelerating in 2026
2026 marks a turning point after a cautious year. In 2025 many CISOs consolidated tools instead of buying new ones, which made it the slowest year of budget growth in five years, at just 4%. Two forces have since reversed that.
First, AI-powered attacks have changed the threat picture. Generative AI lets attackers write 10,000 personalized phishing emails per minute from scraped social media profiles and company communications. Deepfake fraud rose 3,000% in 2024 and now gets past biometric authentication in 97% of attempts. So defenses built for manual attack campaigns no longer hold against AI-driven threats that work at machine speed.
Second, regulation has tightened sharply. European organizations are working through NIS2 and DORA requirements, while US organizations face CMMC 2.0 certification deadlines and CIRCIA reporting mandates. As a result, 81% of European security leaders expect budget increases, and compliance has become a fixed line item instead of optional spending. The rising budgets reflect pressure from attackers on one side and regulators on the other.
85% of organizations raised cybersecurity budgets and 99% plan further increases, yet more than half of security leaders still think they aren’t investing enough for the risks they face. So bigger budgets alone don’t solve the problem; CISOs also have to show that the extra spending measurably reduces risk. Boards want every dollar to produce results, and a longer tool list doesn’t count.
Where the Security Budget Increase Is Flowing
The extra money isn’t spread evenly. Forrester’s analysis shows a clear shift in how organizations divide their cybersecurity budgets in 2026.
| Spending Category | Budget Share | 2026 Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Security Software | 40.2% of total budget | ✓ Surpassed personnel, up 11 points |
| Personnel and Staffing | ~25% of total budget | ◐ Largest line item but growth flattening |
| Cloud Security | 12% boosting by 10%+ | ✓ Fastest-growing investment category |
| On-Premises Security | 11% boosting by 10%+ | ◐ Hybrid environments driving renewed investment |
| Managed Security Services | Growing faster in EMEA | ✓ 63% expect increase in Europe vs 54% in NA |
Software now takes about 40% of enterprise security budgets, more than hardware and outsourced services combined. That reflects the move to security platforms, as organizations replace point products with integrated platforms for AI-driven threat detection, automated response and continuous compliance checks. Meanwhile, 50% of organizations now spend between $1 million and $10 million a year on cybersecurity, which suggests most have moved past the basics into proactive exposure management.
Regional Disparities in the Security Budget Increase
Budget growth also varies a lot by region, because threats, regulation and past investment levels differ.
99% of companies plan to raise cyber budgets, yet 53% name the talent gap as a main obstacle. CISOs aren’t growing teams much in 2026, because adding headcount doesn’t keep pace with machine-speed threats. Instead, they use hybrid models: skilled practitioners supported by AI tools and by managed security services that add coverage without matching hires.
How CISOs Should Allocate the Security Budget Increase
For CISOs, the hard part is spending the extra money so it cuts the most risk, while proving ROI to boards that are watching closely. Organizations that allocate well are moving away from reactive tool buying toward investments with measurable results.
Forrester recommends extending AI and ML security across the enterprise in 2026 as generative AI moves from standalone apps into core business systems. Continuous compliance readiness is also replacing annual point-in-time checks and becoming a standard operating cost, driven by regulators and board visibility. Organizations that use cyber risk quantification frameworks report better alignment between security spending and business goals. The framework below, based on Forrester and Gartner guidance, helps CISOs prioritize.
Five Priorities for the Security Budget Increase in 2026
Based on the Forrester and Gartner data, these are five priorities for CISOs planning their budget:
- Prove ROI on every budget dollar: Boards want measurable outcomes, so use cyber risk quantification frameworks such as FAIR and NIST 800-30 to express investments in business risk terms. Then you justify budget growth with data instead of fear.
- Consolidate tools into integrated platforms: Software takes 40% of budgets and point products add complexity, so favor unified platforms with fewer vendors. That improves both coverage and efficiency.
- Invest in AI-augmented security operations: AI-powered attacks move at machine speed, so give analysts AI that handles alert triage and threat correlation. Only 35% rate their defenses as effective against AI-driven social engineering, which makes this urgent.
- Automate compliance to free analyst capacity: Manual compliance eats 60-70% of cyber labor hours. Continuous compliance platforms that collect evidence automatically let analysts work on security instead of audit preparation.
- Build managed service partnerships strategically: With 53% citing a talent gap, use managed security services for monitoring, detection and response. Then use the time this buys to build specialist skills in cloud and AI security in-house.
Key Takeaway Global security spending is heading for $240 billion in 2026, up 12.5%, with 55% of leaders expecting significant growth and 85% already spending more. Software now takes 40% of budgets, and APAC leads with 22% expecting 10%+ growth. But more spending alone doesn’t build confidence, so prove ROI with cyber risk quantification, consolidate point products into platforms, and automate compliance so analysts can focus on security.
Looking Ahead: Security Spending Beyond 2026
Security spending will keep rising as AI-powered threats grow more frequent and sophisticated, regulation spreads across jurisdictions, and IoT, OT convergence and agentic AI create new kinds of exposure. By 2030, preemptive cybersecurity will make up half of all security spending as CIOs shift from reactive defense to proactive protection, and the global security and risk management market will approach $300 billion as compliance grows more complex.
The organizations that get the most from bigger budgets will be those that move from reactive tool buying to strategic risk management. Those that keep adding tools without consolidating or measuring will get less from every extra dollar.
For CISOs, the bigger budget is both an opportunity and a responsibility. The money is there, since 99% of companies plan increases. The task is to spend it on outcomes that measurably cut risk, and to show that value to boards that now watch cybersecurity ROI more closely than ever.
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References
- 55% Significant Increase, Software 40%, Regional Disparities, APAC 22%, Europe 81%: Software Strategies Blog — Top 10 Insights from Forrester’s 2026 Cybersecurity Budget Report
- $240B Gartner, 12.5% Growth, 85% Increased, Sector Benchmarks, AI Threat Data: Elisity — Cybersecurity Budget 2026: Benchmarks and Spending Trends
- 85% Increased, 50%+ Not Confident, People 25% of Budget, Cloud Security Priority: Wiz — How CISOs Should Plan Security Budgets for 2026
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