How are geopolitics impacting our cybersecurity world today?

This is a question I ask early every year after global leaders assemble in Davos, Switzerland, for meetings of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Note: <i class="rte2-style-italic">Last year’s cyber analysis from the WEF can be seen here</i>.

From the war in Ukraine to global tariffs to events in the Middle East to the NATO impacts resulting from President Donald Trump’s desire to expand U.S. control over Greenland to different views on AI and energy — what are the important parts to diagnose and understand?

TOP CYBER THEMES FROM DAVOS

Each year, the WEF releases their cybersecurity outlook for the coming year, and the 2026 document can be downloaded here.

Some key insights (with charts and more details at their portal on each item) include:

• AI is supercharging the cyber arms race: AI is anticipated to be the most significant driver of change in cybersecurity in the year ahead, according to 94 percent of survey respondents.
• Geopolitics is a defining feature of cybersecurity: In 2026, geopolitics remains the top factor influencing overall cyber risk mitigation strategies. Some 64 percent of organizations are accounting for geopolitically motivated cyber attacks — such as disruption of critical infrastructure or espionage.
• Cyber-enabled fraud is threatening CEOs and households alike — In the survey, 73 percent of respondents reported that they or someone in their network had been personally affected by cyber-enabled fraud over the course of 2025.

You can see a WEF video on these three trends here.

There are also numerous detailed WEF cyber reports on various global topics that came out in the past three weeks which include topics such as:

How cybersecurity can best navigate geopolitics to secure a resilient and open digital future

• “Cybersecurity has moved from a technical concern to a core element of geopolitical competition, shaping how states, companies and societies manage risk and power.
• Sovereignty-driven regulations and export controls are fragmenting the digital landscape and raising risks for organizations operating across borders.
• Building cyber resilience now depends on collaboration between business and government, as geopolitical shocks and hybrid threats expose deep interdependencies in the digital ecosystem.”

How to prioritize cyber resilience in the health-care sector

• “Cybersecurity has moved from a technical concern to a core element of geopolitical competition, shaping how states, companies and societies manage risk and power.
• Sovereignty-driven regulations and export controls are fragmenting the digital landscape and raising risks for organizations operating across borders.
• Building cyber resilience now depends on collaboration between business and government, as geopolitical shocks and hybrid threats expose deep interdependencies in the digital ecosystem.”

How electricity providers are adapting to the global data center build out

• “Data center demand is changing the energy market.
• As data centers become critical infrastructure for the current digital economy, energy producers face much stricter requirements for availability.
• Maximizing the value of new and existing infrastructure requires strong, flexible and agile cybersecurity.”

As cybersecurity risks grow, here are the priorities of executives and cyber leaders

• "In 2026, cybersecurity will be shaped by accelerating threats, geopolitical fragmentation and a widening technological divide.
• Strengthening collective cyber resilience has become both an economic and a societal imperative.
• In a fragmented and uncertain world, collective action offers a path to trust, stability and shared digital progress."

OTHER DIGITAL AND CYBER THEMES FOR THE U.S. AND EUROPE

Meanwhile, the tensions between the U.S. and Europe are showing up in various ways, even as countries continue to work together within NATO and on cyber projects.

For example, consider these stories:

MSN: France dumps Zoom and Teams as Europe seeks digital autonomy from the US — “In France, civil servants will ditch Zoom and Teams for a homegrown video conference system. Soldiers in Austria are using open source office software to write reports after the military dropped Microsoft Office. Bureaucrats in a German state have also turned to free software for their administrative work.

“Around Europe, governments and institutions are seeking to reduce their use of digital services from U.S. Big Tech companies and turning to domestic or free alternatives. The push for 'digital sovereignty' is gaining attention as the Trump administration strikes an increasingly belligerent posture toward the continent, highlighted by recent tensions over Greenland that intensified fears that Silicon Valley giants could be compelled to cut off access.”

Atlantic Council: Learning the lessons from Ukraine’s fight against Russian cyber warfare — “The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine is among the most technologically advanced wars the world has ever seen. But while the rapid developments taking place in drone warfare tend to attract most attention, the cyber front of the conflict also offers important lessons for international audiences.”

Cybersecurity News: Ukraine tightens controls on Starlink terminals — “Ukraine introduced a mandatory whitelist for Starlink terminals, disconnecting any unverified devices, after confirming Russian forces are using Starlink-equipped drones for real-time control. Officials say the move, implemented with SpaceX, is meant to stop Russian UAVs that are harder to jam or intercept, with added restrictions limiting terminal use to stationary or low-speed operation. More than 50,000 Starlink terminals are active in Ukraine, and authorities say the measure is currently the only way to prevent Russian exploitation of the network.”

Politico.eu: Hacking space: Europe ramps up security of satellites — “Space systems are increasingly targeted with cyberattacks, as the global hybrid warfare rages.”

The Record: Amid rising threats, NATO holds its largest-ever cyberdefense exercise — “The annual Cyber Coalition exercise is intended to cover more than just the basics of network defense. Participants deal with the complicated and multi-faceted threats that have been seen in recent conflicts around the world, including attempts to stir social unrest and degrade military capabilities.

“This year’s drill saw 29 allies, alongside seven partner nations, coordinate their responses to seven major storylines — all of which are designed to stay below NATO’s Article 5 threshold for collective defense — at Estonia’s national cyber range, CR14, established and supported by the country’s Ministry of Defence. It was NATO's largest-ever cyberdefense exercise.”

United24: Russia Linked to Cyberattacks Targeting UK Businesses, Says NATO Cyber Operations Chief — “Russia may be behind a series of devastating cyberattacks targeting British businesses, as the Kremlin continues its hybrid assault on Europe, according to NATO’s head of cyber operations Brigadier General Ümit Ersoy.”

FINAL THOUGHTS

This piece is focused on Europe, the U.S. and Russia, but the cyber implications on relations with China are immense. In last week’s blog, I focused on foreign tech bans in government, mainly in China.

One more thought: This SC World article is worth a look covering the topic of how China’s Typhoon hackers have changed the rules of cybersecurity.