IPA's Top 10 Corporate Security Threats for 2026

News highlights

On January 29, 2026, the Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA) announced the "Top 10 Information Security Threats of 2026." The list was determined by a vote of approximately 250 security researchers and corporate practitioners, and reflects major security incidents and threat trends that occurred in 2025.

What was shown in this announcement?

Every year, the IPA publishes its "Top 10 Threats" based on a vote by security experts, ranking the threats that should be watched that year. For the 2026 edition, the IPA ranked threats in two categories: those for organizations and those for individuals.

The top threats to organizations are:

1. Damage caused by ransomware attacks

2. Attacks targeting supply chains and subcontractors

3. Cyber risks surrounding the use of AI

4. Attacks that exploit system vulnerabilities

5. Targeted attacks targeting confidential information

   
   

For individuals, phishing, unauthorized logins, and fraudulent use of internet banking remain at the top of the list.

[Information source] - Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA) "Top 10 Information Security Threats 2026" https://www.ipa.go.jp/security/10threats/10threats2026.html

Impacts and points of caution for companies and organizations

This announcement shows that the security risks facing companies and organizations are no longer limited to a few specialized departments, but have now reached a stage where they affect the entire business . The following points are particularly noteworthy:

Ransomware: The essence of the damage is "outage" and "loss of trust"

Ransomware goes beyond simply encrypting data and demanding payment.

• Impact on business continuity due to business system outages

• Increased recovery time and costs

• Loss of trust from business partners and customers

This directly leads to management-level risks . In recent years, there have been many cases where recovery takes time even with backups, and the reality is that it is difficult to completely avoid the impact on business once damage occurs .

Supply Chain Attacks: Structural Risks That Cannot Be Prevented by In-House Countermeasures Alone

The tricky thing about supply chain attacks is that

• The target of the attack is not your own company

• Inability to fully grasp the security status of contractors and business partners

Even if your company has sufficient security measures, there is a possibility that your company may be invaded through a business partner .

• To what extent should management responsibility be taken?

• What range can be visualized and understood?

These are issues that arise regardless of the size of the company.

AI-related risks: New risks increase in exchange for convenience

While the use of generative AI is progressing,

• Unintentionally entering or sharing confidential information

• Attack methods that exploit AI will become more sophisticated and automated

• Internal rules and management systems have not kept up

New types of risks such as the above are becoming apparent. Conventional measures that rely solely on "perimeter defense" and "human vigilance" are no longer sufficient to prevent unexpected risks from arising .

Common points to note: businesses of all sizes and sectors are affected

What these threats have in common is that

• It's not just a problem for certain industries or large companies

• The reason they are targeted is not due to technical capabilities, but due to management gaps and lack of understanding.

Therefore, rather than thinking about whether your company will be the target of an attack, you need to think about "what you cannot see."

Generally considered responses and ideas

The basis of security measures is to accurately understand the current threat situation. IPA announcements can be used in the following ways:

• Recognize the current situation : Objectively understand the risks your company faces

• Prioritization : A basis for effectively allocating limited resources

• Internal explanation : Used as explanatory material for management and related departments

• Consideration of measures : Review of existing measures and guidelines for improvement

What our services can help you with

PIPELINE's RiskSensor is a service that visualizes and reports security risk status as seen from the outside. By combining it with IPA threat information, you can use it as a basis for making decisions to gain a more specific understanding of your company's risk status.

We can also help you clarify the current situation and explain it internally through threat intelligence and attack surface visualization.

✦ Conclusion

Thank you for reading this far.

At PIPELINE Inc., we are a group of experts specializing in cybersecurity and threat intelligence, and we face threats on the ground together with our customers every day.

"Even if we have a specialized team in-house, we don't have enough resources ." " I don't know where to start ."

"We want to prepare realistically, assuming that attacks will occur."

Regardless of the size of a company, the current situation is that weak areas of defense are likely to be targeted.

Furthermore, by keeping things to yourself within the company, it is inevitable that things will be overlooked.

That's why we don't focus on idealism, but instead focus on methods that are useful in the field, proposing ways to start small and easily. Even "one small step within your capabilities" can make a big difference in safety.

If you have any concerns, please feel free to contact us. We will work together to find the best way to strengthen your security in the shortest possible time.