IBM X-Force 2026 Threat Index: AI-Driven Attacks Escalating, Supply Chain Threats 4x Since 2020

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IBM's 2026 X-Force Threat Index reports a 44% increase in attacks exploiting public-facing applications driven by missing auth controls and AI-enabled vulnerability discovery. Active ransomware groups surged 49% YoY. Supply chain compromises nearly 4x since 2020. North Korea uses AI for synthetic identities at scale. Manufacturing topped targets for the 5th year at 27.7%. North America was most-attacked at 29% of cases. The meta-story: attackers are using AI to find basic security gaps faster, n