Q1 2026 Cyber Risk Report: Insights from 2.1 Million Malware and Phishing Investigations 

Based on 2,101,483 malware and phishing investigations from Q1 2026, ANY.RUN‘s Cyber Risk report provides a real-world view of modern attack trends. 

It covers trending malware families, TTPs, and other technical observations, while also delivering executive insights CISOs and SOC teams can use to connect attacker behavior to business risk. 

Combining data-backed malware trends with strategic guidance for security leaders, the report reveals critical gaps in detection, response, and visibility that directly impact business resilience, and outlines solutions organizations can use in their defense strategy. 

Explore the full report to discover seven key cyber risk trends, their strategic implications, and the security priorities organizations should consider for Q2 2026. 

What the Data Shows 

• Early-stage compromise is an overlooked risk: Loader-based attacks nearly doubled, highlighting the expanding role of these tools used for initial compromise in organizations. 

• Identity remains a primary target: A 14.7% increase in credential theft activity shows that attackers prioritize gaining valid credentials that allow them to operate in a low-noise way. 

• Trusted tools are increasingly weaponized: For instance, LOLBAS attacks leveraging JavaScript rose by 58.4%. 

• Detection and attribution are becoming more challenging: The growing popularity of credential abuse and trusted tool exploitation makes behavior-based monitoring and anomaly investigation increasingly important. 

The full report expands these and other threat intelligence insights, including trending malware families and attack vectors, as well as the evolving nature of modern cyber risk and its strategic implications for Q2 2026, supported by data and actionable recommendations. 

The Growing Cost of Delayed Response 

One of the clearest messages from ANY.RUN’s Q1 2026 Cyber Risk report is that defenders have less time than ever to detect and respond. 

Median times such as 21 seconds to persistence establishment and 16 seconds to Living-off-the-Land (LOTL) execution using native system tools prove that the window between initial compromise and attackers foothold continues to shrink. 

In this environment, speed and certainty in investigations become a key advantage for security teams. Establishing early threat detection and rapid investigation flow is what allows successful SOCs to act before incidents escalate to financial impact. 

This is where enterprise-scale malware analysis and threat intelligence solutions become critical. By providing faster visibility into attack behavior, the help reduce investigation time, accelerate decision-making, and ultimately limit the business impact of security incidentsthrough early detection and response. 

Give Your SOC the Threat Visibility It Needs with ANY.RUN 

ANY.RUN gives security leaders stronger control. With malware analysis and threat intelligence solutions get in-depth threat visibility, private analyses, multi-platform analysis across Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, advanced privacy controls, SSO, team management, API access, workspace analytics, and fast validation of threats without losing visibility or control.  

With these capabilities, enterprise teams can:  

• Reduce investigation delays by safely analyzing suspicious files, URLs, scripts, and phishing flows in real time.  

• Confirm business exposure faster by seeing whether credentials, OTPs, remote access tools, C2 traffic, or fileless execution were involved.  

• Protect sensitive investigations with private analyses, advanced privacy controls, SSO, and team-based access.  

• Improve SOC efficiency with shared workflows, workspace analytics, API access, and full task history.  

• Strengthen detection coverage to connect related infrastructure, IOCs, and attack patterns.  

• Support enterprise-scale response with analysis across major operating systems. 

About ANY.RUN 

ANY.RUN provides cybersecurity solutions that help organizations strengthen security operations and respond to threats with greater speed and confidence. The company’s mission is to enable security teams to understand threats faster, make informed decisions, and operationalize threat intelligence across detection, investigation, and response workflows. 

Interactive Sandbox for enterprise-scale malware and phishing analysis and ANY.RUN Threat Intelligence solutions aggregate investigation data from more than 15,000 SOCs worldwide to support instant enrichment and early threat detection. 

ANY.RUN is SOC 2 Type II attested, demonstrating its commitment to strong security controls and customer data protection. For SOCs, MSSPs, and enterprise security teams, ANY.RUN helps reduce investigation uncertainty, accelerate triage, and transform threat analysis into actionable intelligence. 

The post Q1 2026 Cyber Risk Report: Insights from 2.1 Million Malware and Phishing Investigations  appeared first on ANY.RUN’s Cybersecurity Blog.

ANY.RUN’s Cybersecurity Blog – ​Read More