About three years ago, before GenAI grabbed the focus of boardrooms, C-suites and just about every tech investment dollar, much of the conversations around business technology and IT spending centered on cybersecurity. Before 2023, survey after survey showed cybersecurity as the top priority among IT decision makers, and technology advisors were warned that they better be ready to have a security conversation with their customers and prospects. Now that AI technologies have traveled along their respective hype cycles, security is primed to return to a position of top priority among IT buyers, with 2026 expected to bring a healthy rebound in cybersecurity spending. And in a type of full circle moment, the emergence and prevalence of AI technologies are major driving forces of this cybersecurity redux. As Channelholic analyst Rich Freeman recently pointed out, forecasts such as IDC’s $758 billion in AI infrastructure spending by 2029, and Omdia’s $267 billion global partner opportunity for AI and agentic AI services by 2030, “are unlikely to become reality unless a lot of people devote a lot of time, attention and money to AI security.” Already, there’s some indications that a security spending rebound is percolating. According to researchers at Pinpoint Search Group, for instance, 2025 ended up being “an incredibly strong year for investment in cybersecurity vendors,” with $13.97 billion raised in the fiscal year, representing a 47 percent increase in total funding compared to 2024. Funding volume in the cybersecurity sector increased by 30 percent with 392 funding rounds tracked in fiscal year 2025 compared to By Martin Vilaboy After being overshadowed by AI, cybersecurity is primed for a spending rebound in 2026 CYBER PATROL CYBERSECURITY REDUX 32 CHANNELVISION | WINTER 2026
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