AUSTRALIA – December 22, 2025 — DigiCert, a global leader in intelligent trust, today unveiled its 2026 Security Predictions, forecasting how AI, quantum computing, and automation will reshape global trust frameworks. The predictions highlight a pivotal shift toward AI integrity, resilience, and quantum readiness as core tenets of intelligent trust.

“In 2026, security in Australia will become increasingly operational. Shorter certificate lifespans will make manual processes untenable, driving organisations to fully automate certificate management to prevent outages,” said Daniel Sutherland, Regional Vice President at DigiCert, Australia and New Zealand. “At the same time, quantum computing is shifting from a future concern to a present-day priority, with Australian Signals Directorate guidance accelerating planning for post-quantum cryptography, recommending businesses have a plan to migrate to a PQC future by the end of 2026”.

“As AI becomes more autonomous, trust will be increasingly defined by verifiable provenance and cryptographic safeguards, that ensure authenticity and accountability across systems and data. This shift will drive adoption of cryptographic signing, provenance tracking and emerging standards such as Model Context Protocol (MCP) to govern AI across its lifecycle, especially as regulators and boards sharpen their focus on responsible AI. Those that act early to automate certificate management, plan for post-quantum cryptography, and embed AI integrity into their operations will not only strengthen security and compliance but also position themselves as market leaders in Australia’s rapidly evolving digital landscape. 2026 is the time to start,” Daniel continues.

“Security in 2026 won’t just be about protecting systems, it will be about proving integrity across every digital interaction,” said Jason Sabin, Chief Technology Officer at DigiCert. “As AI accelerates, machine identities multiply, and quantum computing advances, intelligent trust will become the foundation that keeps businesses resilient, verifiable, and secure. The organisations that embrace automation, provenance, and quantum-safe readiness now will define the trust landscape for the next decade.”

“Across Asia Pacific, we’re seeing a shift from planning to action when it comes to intelligent trust. In markets like Australia, regulatory momentum, Zero Trust programs, and the surge of IoT are pushing organisations to automate identity and certificate lifecycles. Singapore is moving fast on quantum-safe planning and AI governance frameworks. And in India, the conversation is expanding beyond technology into governance, talent readiness, and digital sovereignty. In 2026, the organisations that stay ahead will be the ones that treat identity, resilience, and authenticity not as IT functions, but as core pillars of governance and competitive advantage.” said James Cook, Asia-Pacific group vice-president of DigiCert.

These shifts form the backdrop for eight security priorities poised to define 2026.

AI Integrity Becomes the New Trust Standard

AI authenticity will overtake data confidentiality as the top enterprise trust concern. With 97% of APAC enterprise IT leaders having implemented or planning to implement AI agents in the next two years, organisations will require verifiable identity, provenance, and tracking for every model, dataset, and autonomous agent.

Resilience Becomes the New Compliance

Resilience will shift from an IT goal to a board-level mandate as regulations like Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and new global standards tighten expectations and inspire a new wave of regulatory changes in other regions. As IDC notes, initiatives like the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Technology Risk Management guidelines, Australia’s CPS 230, and new incident disclosure rules in India reflect this shift. Additionally, the advent of the DPDP Act in India is reshaping how organisations approach compliance. Organisations will be required to prove that their DNS, identity, and certificate systems can withstand disruption, with uptime and recoverability directly tied to financial and operational stability.

Automation Strategies Evolve as Certificate Lifespans Shrink

With TLS certificate lifetimes reducing to 200 days as part of the phased reduction to 47 days, the effort associated with manual renewal doubles. Organisations will adopt full-stack automation to eliminate outages and create self-healing trust ecosystems.

Quantum Computing Puts Encryption on Notice

The first practical quantum computer capable of solving meaningful problems will emerge. Across APAC, early signals of post-quantum security are already surfacing, from Singapore’s CSA issuing quantum-safe guidance to Singtel rolling out Southeast Asia’s first hybrid quantum-safe network. In India, the government’s National Quantum Mission and growing investments in indigenous quantum research will accelerate pressure on enterprises to begin quantum-safe migration much earlier than planned, especially in critical sectors like BFSI, identity systems, and telecommunications.

Organisations beginning their initial pilots will discover interoperability hurdles as certificate and software ecosystems adapt to quantum-safe requirements.

Content Authenticity Moves from Principle to Policy

Governments and major platforms will begin enforcing C2PA for AI-generated and edited content. Watermarking and cryptographic provenance will become required for distribution across news, social, and commerce. In markets like India, while C2PA is not yet mandated, the IT Rules, deepfake advisories, and repeated government warnings to platforms are pushing the ecosystem toward mandatory provenance for AI content — making this global shift fully aligned with India’s regulatory trajectory.

Federated PKI Reinvented for the Post-Chrome Era

Organisations will modernise private PKI as Chrome phases out legacy client authentication and Microsoft sunsets old CA architectures. Identity will shift toward cloud-native, automated, and passwordless trust models.

Email Trust Redefined: Verified Identities Take the Lead

AI-driven phishing will push enterprises to standardise on Verified Mark Certificates and strict DMARC enforcement. Verified sender identity will become the baseline expectation for secure, enterprise-grade communication.

Machine Identities Outnumber Humans 100:1, and PQC Becomes Mandatory

Connected devices and AI agents will surpass human identities by two orders of magnitude. PQC-ready identity frameworks will become mandatory as standards bodies embed quantum-safe algorithms into device ecosystems.

About DigiCert

DigiCert is a global leader in intelligent trust. We protect the digital world by ensuring the security, privacy, and authenticity of every interaction. Our AI-powered DigiCert ONE platform unifies PKI, DNS, and certificate lifecycle management, to secure infrastructure, software, devices, messages, AI content and agents. Learn why more than 100,000 organisations, including 90% of the Fortune 500, choose DigiCert to stop today’s threats and prepare for a quantum-safe future at www.digicert.com.