As organisations grapple with expanding attack surfaces and increasingly sophisticated threats, the importance of strong security fundamentals and clear visibility has never been greater. Quentyn Taylor, Senior Director of Information Security at Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa, tells us why overlooked risks such as compromised credentials, alongside the rise of AI-driven threats, demand a renewed focus on foundational security, governance and leadership-driven cyber-resilience.

As attack surfaces continue to expand across hybrid work, cloud and connected devices, which emerging risks are of greatest concern – and where do organisations continue to underestimate their exposure?

The‘ digital perimeter’ is no longer a clear line; it’ s a fluid, expansive landscape where every device can be a potential entry point. It’ s not so much the emerging risks that cause organisations to underestimate their exposure, but that of emerged risks such as stolen credentials, that remain inadequately addressed.

Stolen and compromised credentials are one of the most underestimated threats facing organisations today. The reality is that when a business doesn’ t have a clear picture of its own perimeter – and in a hybrid, cloud-connected world, that perimeter is increasingly difficult to define – attackers don’ t need to break down the door. They walk straight through it, using legitimate credentials that have been quietly harvested or bought. The challenge isn’ t always that organisations lack the right tools; it’ s that they don’ t fully understand the extent of their own exposure. Until businesses can answer confidently where their boundaries are and who has access to what, the more headline-grabbing threats remain a secondary concern.

It is also important to consider how attackers are leveraging AI in their execution. While we aren’ t yet commonly seeing AI write malware, it is increasing the speed at which attackers can operate – enabling faster, broader distribution and, consequently, more victims. There is also the threat posed by Quantum Computing. Whilst there is not yet a viable quantum computer that can crack current encryption, the arms race is on, and unlike AI it is highly unlikely that we will be told when a viable quantum

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