The start of a new year means a fresh start for everyone, including cybersecurity teams. With budgets and plans now finalized, it’s time for CISOs and their teams to execute their strategies. But that doesn’t mean that innovation stops when the plan is finalized. In 2026, CISOs should focus on going beyond cybersecurity compliance standards to keep their organizations resilient to emerging threats. Historically, these standards, such as HIPAA, SOC2, ISO 27001 and others, have set the baseline for security procedures and controls. Done correctly, these can be valuable tools for CISOs to justify investments. But they’re a double-edged sword: Companies that rely solely on compliance can miss im...