New survey exposes the widening gap between attack sophistication and security readiness, with 84% of SMB owners still going at it alone against AI-driven threats

VikingCloud, a cybersecurity and compliance company trusted by 4 million businesses worldwide, today released its latest SMB threat research, the 2026 SMB Threat Landscape Report: The Year Cybersecurity Risks Surpass Economic Concerns, revealing that for the first time, cyberattacks now rank as the #1 business concern for SMBs. 3 in 4 small- and medium- sized businesses (SMBs) say cyber incidents, including data breaches and ransomware attacks, are most likely to negatively impact their business this year, ranking ahead of inflation and rising costs (54%), recession and reduced consumer spending (25%), and workforce retention issues or hiring shortages (25%).

The data, gathered from a quantitative survey of SMB owners and cyber leaders across North America, shows Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a key reason for supercharging attacks that could impact business operations. 42% of SMB respondents say AI cyberattack speed makes traditional human-driven patching and response times effectively obsolete. Respondents also report that AI is creating adaptive and evasive malware (35%), hyper-personalized social engineering attacks (28%), and lowering the barrier to entry for novice criminals (24%).

“Cybersecurity has crossed the line from an IT challenge to a business survival issue,” said Kevin Pierce, Chief Operating Officer at VikingCloud. “Today’s cybersecurity threats are too sophisticated for any one individual to handle. In fact, 50% of SMBs say they’d lose customers after a successful breach, and 40% admit that an attack of $100,000 or less could put them out of business. SMBs need to shift from reactive, checklist-driven security to a risk-directed approach that focuses resources where they matter most. Cyber risk is now a core financial threat, and managing it demands smarter prioritization, not just more tools.”

VikingCloud’s 2026 SMB Threat Landscape Report also uncovered 5 key exposure points that could lead to a damaging attack:

• Cybersecurity self-management: Most business owners (84%) and cyber leaders (54%) still self-manage their cybersecurity programs despite growing AI risks. The result: 56% of cyber leaders report increased anxiety and 53% report burnout, while 57% of owners say security demands cause them to delay or miss growth opportunities.
• Widespread cyber incidents and attack attempts – In the past 12 months, SMBs faced Wi-Fi or network disruptions (73%), website downtime (58%) third-party/vendor outages (55%), and point-of-sale software downtime (51%), impacting daily operations and revenue continuity. Many also saw AI-generated phishing (46%), deepfake schemes (29%), customer data breaches (27%), or ransomware attacks (26%).
• Baseline controls are common, but coverage gaps remain – 34% admit their cybersecurity technology is outdated. Many have basic protections like real-time threat monitoring or intrusion detection/prevention systems (67%), antivirus/antimalware tools (63%), and firewalls (58%), but fewer have vulnerability scanning (34%), penetration testing (32%), or security awareness training (32%).
• Competing budget priorities hinder defense – In the past year, SMB owners and cyber leaders prioritized employee hiring, raises, and bonuses (42%), subscription to non-essential software (42%), and employee training on non-security topics like customer service or sales (41%) over new cybersecurity investments.
• The attack surface is rapidly evolving for payment security – 40% of respondents say the removal of the 16-digit primary account number (PAN) from credit and debit cards will significantly or extremely impact the security of business transactions.

What Comes Next: Smarter Security for SMBs

SMB cybersecurity programs today rely on static tools that do not address the real-world risks they face or the limited resources they have to manage them. AI is a key tool to understanding and prioritizing SMBs’ most damaging cyber risks. SMBs plan to use AI in 2026 for threat detection (39%), incident response (34%), fraud detection (34%), and automated phishing detection (31%).

"No SMB owner started a business to become a cybersecurity expert. But you can't separate cyber risk from business risk anymore. Going at it alone against AI-driven threats isn't sustainable. The right combination of AI and expert partners lets SMBs prioritize the threats that matter most, act sooner, and get back to what they do best – grow, with more confidence and less stress," Pierce added.

Click here to download the full report on SMBs' biggest threats and where they can turn for help.

About VikingCloud

VikingCloud delivers battle-tested cybersecurity and compliance protection that simply works. Our expert-led approach combines proven technology and AI-driven insights with dedicated support—keeping businesses secure, audit-ready, and uninterrupted.

VikingCloud is trusted by over 4 million businesses in 70+ countries to stop threats before they stop business, so they can work on what matters most. For more information, visit www.vikingcloud.com and follow us at www.linkedin.com/company/vikingcloud/.

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