trends

Here’s a Thing – What if Shadow AI Is Actually Telling Us Something Useful?

Dana Louise Simberkoff of AvePoint suggests that shadow AI, like shadow IT before it, signals a cultural stress test within enterprises rather than simply being a technological failure, reflecting a gap between business needs and governance. She advocates for a shift in organizational mindset where employees are treated as stewards of AI, emphasizing trust, clear controls, and distributed judgment to manage AI safely and effectively, rather than imposing restrictive bans that drive usage underground.

https://diginomica.com/heres-thing-what-if-shadow-ai-actually-telling-us-something-useful

The Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps — 6th Edition

A16z highlights key focus areas like AI, crypto, and consumer products. Recent content includes updates on generative AI consumer apps and a report on market shifts in AI tools, emphasizing the rise of ChatGPT as the leading consumer AI while others like Gemini and Claude are gaining traction. Global usage of AI products is becoming fragmented, with notable performance in specific regions. Creative tools are evolving, moving beyond image generation. The emergence of agentic AI and evolving integrations into existing platforms signifies a transition towards more powerful AI applications. Finally, traditional browser and desktop applications are being enhanced with AI capabilities, impacting user engagement metrics.

https://a16z.com/100-gen-ai-apps-6/

Half of US CISOs Work the Equivalent of a Six-Day Week

US CISOs face rising pressure, working six or seven days weekly; 45% put in 11+ extra hours, 20% over 16 hours. Emotional exhaustion affects 44%, 56% of C-level feel the same. Despite stress, 94% would choose a cybersecurity career. AI exacerbates workload but shifts focus to business skills; 85% feel pressure to improve communication and interpersonal skills. Organizations must adapt to avoid governance gaps as AI changes operational dynamics.

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/half-us-cisos-work-equivalent/

CISOs in a Pinch: a Security Analysis of OpenClaw

Anthropic’s Claude Code Security is a significant advancement in pre-deployment vulnerability detection, using AI to identify logic-level vulnerabilities. However, the market overreacted to the announcement, conflating code scanning with comprehensive cybersecurity. The fastest-growing attack surface is AI agents themselves, requiring a platform approach that addresses supply chain security, runtime monitoring, governance, and unified visibility.

https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/26/c/cisos-in-a-pinch-security-analysis-of-openclaw.html

Measuring AI Agent Autonomy in Practice Anthropic

TLDR: This research examines AI agent autonomy, focusing on Claude Code's interactions and user behavior. It finds that Claude is increasingly autonomous, working longer without interruptions and auto-approving more frequently as users gain experience. However, experienced users also interrupt more, indicating active oversight. Most agent tasks are low-risk, mainly in software engineering, with limited high-risk applications. Recommendations include enhancing post-deployment monitoring, training AI to recognize uncertainty, and designing for effective user oversight. Overall, autonomy levels are rising amid evolving agent applications.

https://www.anthropic.com/research/measuring-agent-autonomy

The CISO Diaries February 2026 Report: The Security Priorities That Actually Move The Needle

CISO Diaries February 2026 report emphasizes evolving security priorities: trust shifts from perimeters to identity, supply chain risks now central, AI enhances integrity checks, response speed is crucial, and fundamental controls yield high returns. Security culture and incentives matter, while security teams increasingly oversee automation. Future focus: reducing reliance on perimeter defenses and manual operations.

https://cisowhisperer.com/the-ciso-diaries-february-2026-report-the-security-priorities-that-actually-move-the-needle/

Managing the New Blend of Human and Virtual “Co-Workers”

HR leaders must adapt to a workplace increasingly comprising human and AI collaboration. Key trends identified by Gartner for 2026 include challenges like layoffs due to anticipated AI productivity that hasn’t been realized yet, the need to protect employee mental well-being in the AI landscape, and managing “workslop” caused by poor-quality AI outputs. Additionally, there’s a focus on improving recruiting methods to combat candidate fraud, addressing insider threats amid AI advancements, supporting transitions to trades from tech roles, and ensuring processes are optimized by creative thinkers, not just tech experts. Lastly, employees may demand compensation for training AI counterparts modeled after themselves.

https://www.latimes.com/b2b/human-resources/story/2026-02-22/2026-future-of-work-trends-hr-leaders

Hackers Increasingly Prefer Fast and Low-Complexity Attacks

Hackers are increasingly favoring fast, low-complexity attacks over sophisticated exploits, prioritizing accessible entry points like phishing and remote access services. Many ransomware attacks utilize existing controls, exploiting vulnerabilities or stolen credentials to gain access and move quickly from breach to impact. Incident responders emphasize the importance of basic defenses such as vulnerability management, access controls, and monitoring, while also highlighting the persistence of configuration issues, including stale credentials and insufficient visibility into cloud identities.

https://www.databreachtoday.com/hackers-increasingly-prefer-fast-low-complexity-attacks-a-30787

AI Is Spreading Faster Than Companies Can Secure It, CISO Survey Finds

AI adoption is outpacing security measures, per a Pentera survey of 300 U.S. CISOs. Key findings: 67% lack visibility into AI usage, 44% report lagging AI security, and major challenges include expertise shortages and reliance on outdated security controls. Despite funding for AI security, it lacks dedicated budgets, highlighting significant gaps in securing evolving AI systems amidst complex IT environments.

https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/ai-is-spreading-faster-than-companies-can-secure-it-ciso-survey-finds-302691361.html

AI Is About to Get Really Weird. CIOs Better Be Prepared.

CIOs need to prepare for emerging, unpredictable AI scenarios that could lead to potential legal and ethical dilemmas, as illustrated by a case involving AI misinterpretation of facts resulting in defamation. IT leaders should anticipate challenges when integrating AI into customer interactions, ensuring they establish guidelines for accountability and protecting against unforeseen consequences. The rise of “volitional AI,” capable of simulating human identities and actions, raises concerns about identity theft and asset claims. Continuous vigilance and strategic foresight are crucial amidst evolving AI capabilities to mitigate risks.

https://www.cio.com/article/4131846/ai-is-about-to-get-really-weird-cios-better-be-prepared.html

Scroll to Top