January 2026 Cyber Threat Roundup

January 2026 continued to showcase a dynamic and increasingly sophisticated global threat landscape. Cyber adversaries expanded both traditional and AI-augmented tactics, exploited outdated systems, and reaffirmed that human and infrastructure vulnerabilities remain core attack vectors. Below are the most significant developments and trends observed during the month.

1. Phishing, Fraud & Credential Harvesting Surged

Phishing and cyber-enabled fraud overtook classic ransomware in prominence this month. According to our prediction report, agreeing with the World Economic Forum’s 2026 outlook, cyber-enabled fraud emerged as a leading concern for business leaders, surpassing ransomware in perceived risk and impact, driven by socially-engineered credential theft and financial malware campaigns..

Recent cloud infrastructure abuse also showed attackers using trusted platforms to deliver phishing at scale. For example, compromised workflows on major cloud services enabled attackers to send emails impersonating legitimate services, redirecting victims to credential capture pages that bypass typical email security protections.

Other campaigns were observed leveraging widely-trusted services (e.g., Microsoft Teams alerts) to lure users into credential theft and payment fraud schemes.

👉 Takeaway: As organizations harden perimeter defenses, attackers increasingly rely on social engineering and credential capture, making anti-phishing controls and MFA essential.

2. Malware & Supply Chain Exploits Remain Active

Multiple malware families and exploit campaigns were confirmed throughout January:

• Analysts identified an Android malware strain exploiting machine learning models for automated ad-click fraud and persistence, underscoring how malware is leveraging AI for resilient activity.

• JavaScript-based e-skimming malware silently compromised payment pages to harvest sensitive payment card data during online transactions.

• Malicious npm packages (e.g., “G-Wagon”) were discovered distributing Python-based information stealers targeting developer systems and wallets.

Beyond malware, critical vulnerabilities continued to be exploited:

• A zero-click WhatsApp flaw was disclosed that enables remote device compromise via group chat delivery without user interaction.

• Legacy protocols such as Telnet remained critically exposed, with nearly 800,000 devices vulnerable to authentication bypass and root compromise, highlighting persistent infrastructure risk.

👉 Takeaway: From Attackers are blending old-school weaknesses with modern tactics. Patch management and software inventory control must be priorities.

3. Ransomware & Targeted Disruption Events

While ransomware’s profile as the top CEO concern has shifted toward fraud, extortion campaigns and critical infrastructure attacks still made headlines:

• A ransomware attack disrupted critical hospital IT systems in Antwerp, affecting surgeries and emergency operations, underscoring the real-world impact of malicious disruption.

• Broader ransomware trends remain upward, with ongoing reporting suggesting more ransomware groups and incidents than in prior years.

👉 Takeaway: Ransomware continues to pose direct operational risk, particularly in healthcare and infrastructure, even as fraud and phishing dominate strategic concerns.

4. AI-Related Security Failures and Exploits

Artificial intelligence and AI-related systems entered the threat landscape in several ways:

• Emerging security reviews report a rising number of high-impact AI security failures across platforms and tools, suggesting attackers are focusing on ML/AI pipelines and integrations.

• Threat actors have increasingly used AI features to scale social engineering campaigns, including generating realistic phishing content that bypasses traditional heuristics.

👉 Takeaway: AI does not only empower defenders — it also amplifies attacker impact. Organizations must treat AI-specific threat modeling as a core component of risk programs.

5. Geopolitical & State-Linked Activity

State-linked campaigns and critical infrastructure threats continued to emerge:

• A series of destructive cyberattacks targeting energy and manufacturing facilities in Poland were publicly attributed to sophisticated state-linked units, highlighting evolving tactics beyond espionage into potential sabotage.

👉 Takeaway: National-level actors remain active, and their objectives can extend into infrastructure disruption, not just data theft.

What This Means for 2026 Defenders

Key thematic trends from January 2026:

• Social engineering & fraud outperform traditional malware: Attackers are investing in high-return, low-cost mechanisms like phishing and credential abuse rather than purely malware-driven compromise.

• AI fits both sides: Defense and offense increasingly incorporate AI — defenders use automation for detection, while attackers automate phishing and leverage AI to evade controls.

• Legacy risk persists: Outdated services and protocols (e.g., Telnet) continue to offer low-hanging fruit for attackers.

• Critical infrastructure remains at risk: Both ransomware and sabotage-style campaigns threaten operational continuity.

Priority actions for organizations:

1. Implement and enforce phishing-resistant MFA.

2. Harden cloud and email integration points.

3. Identify and mitigate usage of legacy protocols.

4. Include AI-specific threat modeling in risk programs.

5. Monitor and respond to fraud-oriented campaigns as a first-class risk category.

Data & Sources

This roundup combines industry reporting and threat intelligence sources from Check Point Research, global cybersecurity outlooks, vendor threat briefings, and coordinated incident reporting throughout January 2026.