Daniil Borislavsky, Product Manager at Staffcop, information security expert at Kontur.Aegis, said that now, the method of attack against ordinary users has finally shifted from “technical hacking” to exploiting digital identities and human behavioral patterns. In a conversation with Lenta.ru, he talked about the threats that will appear in 2026.
First are attacks on money, experts point out. These are phishing, malicious apps, trojans and phone calls, he said. The main goal of such attacks is to gain access to banking applications and government services, through which important financial and legal actions can be processed, Borislavsky explained. IT experts note that, having gained such access, the attacker can act not just once, but sequentially, using the same compromised account for different operations.
The second threat, according to Lenta.ru's interlocutor, is the hacking of personal accounts for further use. Usually we are talking about instant messages and mail.
A person is encouraged to follow a link or enter data, after which the account falls under the control of the attackers. Next, information is extracted from correspondence, voice messages, and files, which are used to simulate communication, create deepfakes, and build more convincing scenarios of influence on the person himself or her environment. IT expert Daniil Borislavsky
The expert points out that the third threat involves attacks on companies through ordinary people and explains that in such situations a person is used as an entry point into the organization.
“These are not necessarily employees directly related to finance or information technology. Roles with legal access and less vulnerable to attacks are often chosen: engineers, occupational safety specialists, administrative staff. Through them, further advancement within the company will take place. As a result, a person becomes an unconscious insider”, Borislavsky shares.
He named the fourth particularly urgent threat in 2026 the use of users' devices for the benefit of others.
“Computers, work laptops, home routers and IoT devices can be compromised and used for mining, participating in botnets or as attack infrastructure in the middle. The user may not notice the obvious signs of a problem, but his device becomes part of someone else's process and risk,” the IT expert explains.
Experts identify the fifth threat as digital identity theft. According to him, we are talking about a permanent collection of information about a person: data from social networks, media files, voice, communication style. On this basis, alternative accounts and digital entities are created that can act on behalf of a person. Such “doubles” can communicate, build reputation, and engage in actions of legal significance.
Previously, Meri Valishvili, Associate Professor of the Department of Diplomacy and Municipal Finance of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, warned that Russian Visa and Mastercard cards are vulnerable to fraud due to outdated security certificates.
