December Cyber Brief

Jam Cyber Brief

December 2025 Edition

2025 has seen dramatic changes in the technical adoption and development for businesses globally. Additionally, the wave of new technology has brought with it a wave of caution from businesses and governments. We have seen increased cyber security needs, tighter regulation regarding data protection, and new laws about technology use and adoption.

Arguably, 2025 was all about AI – in one way or another. It is likely to be referred to as the year of mass AI adoption: the year businesses realised this was not a phase but a new way of working.

For this monthly brief, we have decided to look at trends we predict will shape 2026 and what Australian businesses can do to both leverage and protect themselves.

Jump ahead

• AI Becomes Standard Business Infrastructure
• Remote and Hybrid Work Tech Reaches Full Maturity
• Productivity Returns as a Top Priority
• Strong Cyber Security Becomes a Business Essential
• AI Governance Becomes Non Negotiable
• Data Becomes the Core Competitive Advantage
• Specialised AI Models Become Mainstream
• Data Security Becomes a Standard Contract Requirement
• Human Interaction Becomes More Valuable
• Regulation Tightens Around AI and Digital Platforms
• Looking to 2026

AI Becomes Standard Business Infrastructure

It will be no surprise that AI features as a core and continuing tech trend for 2026. AI is shifting from something businesses trial to something that becomes part of daily operations. In 2025, AI was a “new toy” for many businesses. Testing potential productivity gains and possibilities.

The next phase is expected to focus on disciplined execution.

A study by Deloitte suggests that many firms will accelerate the adoption of more complex AI agents while keeping humans in the loop to ensure oversight and return on investment. Rather than chasing new models for the sake of novelty, organisations are expected to emphasise data quality, workflow integration, employee training, and compliance to convert earlier AI experiments into meaningful productivity improvements.

How to build AI into your business structure:

1. Map your core workflows and pinpoint where AI can remove repetitive or low value work.
2. Strengthen your data foundations so AI tools have accurate, reliable information to draw from.
3. Establish clear internal rules and policies for AI use, including when human review is required and what tools staff should (and should not) use.

Contact our team today for your free AI policy

Remote and Hybrid Work Tech Reaches Full Maturity

Remote and hybrid work technology is expected to continue maturing in 2026, moving beyond basic communication tools to fully integrated digital work environments. Collaboration platforms now offer secure document management, intelligent assistants, virtual whiteboards, and stable video conferencing. For many professional services firms, these tools have become essential rather than optional.

Extended Reality (XR) solutions are also emerging as a practical option, creating more engaging virtual meeting spaces for teams who rarely work from the same location. As flexibility remains a top priority for skilled employees, businesses with strong remote work capabilities will be more competitive in attracting and retaining talent.

How to strengthen your remote work environment:

1. Review the tools your team uses daily and ensure they provide secure access, easy communication, and reliable performance across locations.
2. Harden your remote access setup by tightening endpoint security, device controls, and authentication.
3. Document a clear remote work framework so staff understand expectations, data handling requirements, and approved collaboration tools.

Productivity Returns as a Top Priority

One of the clearest signals for 2026 is that businesses want to simplify how work gets done. After a year of testing new tools, many organisations are reassessing what actually moves the needle. The conversation has shifted from experimenting with new tech to removing friction from everyday operations.

Rather than grand transformation projects, companies are leaning into practical automation. Tools that quietly streamline scheduling, invoicing, reporting, onboarding, and client communication are seeing strong adoption. Low code platforms are also becoming more common, giving teams the ability to fix small workflow issues without waiting for IT.

Forrester’s 2026 Tech predictions note that the biggest performance gains are coming from focused improvements to high volume administrative processes. The aim is not to replace people. It is to give them back time that is currently lost to repetitive tasks.

How to build productivity gains into your operations:

1. Identify where staff lose the most time each week and flag processes that cause recurring delays or frustration.
2. Select one workflow that directly affects clients or turnaround times and automate it end to end.
3. Build internal capability by training key staff to use simple automation or low code tools so improvements become continuous, not one off.

Strong Cyber Security Becomes a Business Essential

Cyber threats are one of the core concerns businesses are facing in 2026. Thus, cyber security will continue to be a defining issue for Australian businesses in 2026. Threats are growing in speed and sophistication, and attackers are increasingly targeting smaller organisations as a pathway into larger supply chains. Incidents involving stolen credentials, business email compromise, and unauthorised access remain the most common causes of breaches. These trends signal a clear shift from reactive cyber security to a proactive, business wide approach.

Clients, partners, and insurers are no longer treating cyber security as a technical add on. They expect evidence of strong practices, trained staff, and a reliable incident response process. For many professional services firms, the biggest vulnerabilities are still people related. Poor password habits, unsafe sharing practices, accidental data exposure, and rushed decision making continue to create openings for attackers.

In 2026, a strong security posture is expected to include continuous monitoring, structured employee training, clear access controls, secure remote work setups, and well rehearsed incident response procedures. Businesses that invest in these foundations will be better positioned to prevent breaches, recover quickly, and maintain trust with clients.

How your business can strengthen its cyber posture:

1. Implement ongoing employee training that focuses on phishing awareness, safe data handling, and recognising social engineering.
2. Reduce access risks by tightening permissions, enforcing strong authentication, and ensuring only approved devices connect to business systems.
3. Establish a clear incident response plan so staff know exactly what to do if something seems wrong, allowing your business to contain issues early.

Need support protecting your business?

Contact our experts today

AI Governance Becomes Non Negotiable

As AI becomes more integrated into daily business operations, the need for clear governance is growing quickly. Many organisations rushed into AI experiments throughout 2025, and a significant portion struggled due to unclear rules, inconsistent data, or over reliance on unverified outputs. In 2026, the focus shifts to structure, accountability, and safety.

Businesses are expected to strengthen oversight through documented processes, better data quality controls, and mandatory human review for high risk outputs.

Good governance does not slow innovation. It ensures AI is accurate, compliant, and aligned with business value.

How your business can establish strong AI governance:

1. Create simple internal policies that outline when AI can be used, what data is appropriate, and when human oversight is required.
2. Train staff in AI literacy so they understand both the capabilities and the limitations of these tools.
3. Assign clear responsibility for monitoring AI outputs and ensuring they meet accuracy, compliance, and quality expectations.

Data Becomes the Core Competitive Advantage

Data has been a talking point for years, but 2026 is shaping up to be the year businesses finally turn intention into action. With AI adoption accelerating, many organisations are discovering the same obstacle: their data is not clean, structured, or accessible enough to support advanced tools. This gap has become a strategic risk.

83% of Australian business leaders report growing pressure to derive business value from data, yet poor-quality and siloed data remain the biggest hurdles. In 2026, this drives a clear shift. Companies are expected to consolidate fragmented datasets, strengthen governance, and build reliable data pipelines rather than simply amassing more information.

The focus also moves from reporting what has already happened to predicting what will happen next. Real time dashboards, forecasting models, and early risk indicators will become standard tools for decision makers. Businesses that invest in unified and trusted data will be able to anticipate client needs, identify financial risks earlier, and improve operational performance before issues escalate.

Those without it, risk falling behind.

How to turn better data into better decisions:

1. Start by cleaning and consolidating the data you rely on most, such as financials, customer information, or project records.
2. Create one source of truth for core metrics so teams are working from consistent, accurate information.
3. Introduce simple predictive dashboards or early warning indicators to support faster, better decision making.

Specialised AI Models Become Mainstream

As businesses start to mature in their AI use, many are finding that broad, general models are not precise enough for professional work. This is driving demand for specialised AI tools trained on industry specific data. These models understand sector language, regulatory expectations, and context, allowing them to produce more accurate and reliable outputs.

Law, accounting, engineering, and technical fields are already seeing this shift. Instead of generic AI that tries to do everything, teams are choosing tools designed specifically for their discipline.

How to put specialised AI to work in your business:

1. Choose AI tools built for your industry rather than relying on general models.
2. Ask providers how their models are trained and how they manage accuracy.
3. Start by applying specialised AI to repetitive, high volume tasks where precision matters.

Talk to our team about setting up a secure AI platform for your team.

Contact our experts today

Data Security Becomes a Standard Contract Requirement

More large organisations are requiring suppliers to show evidence of strong cyber security before signing or renewing contracts. In 2026, this becomes routine rather than reserved for high risk industries. Government tenders, corporate procurement teams, and enterprise partners are increasingly asking for proof of secure data handling, staff training, documented policies, and incident response capability.

This shift is driven by rising regulatory pressure, higher breach costs, and a growing awareness that supply chain vulnerabilities are a significant source of cyber incidents. For many businesses, demonstrating cyber maturity will become as common as providing insurance certificates or financial statements.

How to prepare your business:

1. Ensure your core security policies are documented, version controlled, and easy to provide when requested.
2. Review how you store, protect, and share client data, especially across remote teams and third party tools.
3. Keep simple evidence files ready for tenders and vendor assessments, such as MFA screenshots, training logs, or data flow diagrams.

Human Interaction Becomes More Valuable

As businesses automate more administrative and operational tasks, genuine human interaction becomes more meaningful. Clients still want clarity, judgement, and reassurance from real people. Internally, teams rely on collaboration, shared understanding, and context that cannot be replicated by software.

With automation removing the low value work, organisations will begin to reallocate time toward conversations, client support, and strategic thinking. This shift also supports employee wellbeing, reducing unnecessary workload stress and allowing people to focus on meaningful contributions.

Human time becomes a premium resource in 2026, and businesses that protect it will strengthen both client relationships and team performance.

How to create more space for meaningful work:

1. Automate repetitive admin tasks that drain time and attention but do not change business outcomes.
2. Reserve dedicated time for client conversations, team collaboration, and decision making.
3. Position technology as an enabler that removes friction rather than a replacement for human insight.

Regulation Tightens Around AI and Digital Platforms

Governments are moving quickly to regulate AI usage, synthetic media, personal data, and digital behaviour. The rapid growth of AI tools has created new obligations for transparency, accuracy, and responsible use. Businesses will face increased scrutiny around how they collect data, how AI is integrated into workflows, and how they communicate decisions influenced by automated tools.

These regulatory changes will not arrive all at once. Instead, businesses should expect a series of incremental updates throughout 2026 as governments respond to emerging risks, deepfake misuse, and public expectations of privacy. For organisations handling sensitive or identifiable information, compliance will need to become a continuous process rather than an annual review.

How to stay ahead of regulatory change:

1. Stay updated through ACSC, OAIC, and relevant industry bodies as new standards and guidelines are released.
2. Review where AI touches customer or employee data and confirm you have clear consent and usage boundaries.
3. Update privacy processes and train staff so everyone understands what is acceptable, what requires caution, and what creates regulatory risk.

Regulation Tightens Around AI and Digital Platforms

Governments are moving quickly to regulate AI usage, synthetic media, personal data, and digital behaviour. The rapid growth of AI tools has created new obligations for transparency, accuracy, and responsible use. Businesses will face increased scrutiny around how they collect data, how AI is integrated into workflows, and how they communicate decisions influenced by automated tools.

These regulatory changes will not arrive all at once. Instead, businesses should expect a series of incremental updates throughout 2026 as governments respond to emerging risks, deepfake misuse, and public expectations of privacy. For organisations handling sensitive or identifiable information, compliance will need to become a continuous process rather than an annual review.

How to stay ahead of regulatory change:

1. Stay updated through ACSC, OAIC, and relevant industry bodies as new standards and guidelines are released.
2. Review where AI touches customer or employee data and confirm you have clear consent and usage boundaries.
3. Update privacy processes and train staff so everyone understands what is acceptable, what requires caution, and what creates regulatory risk.

Looking to 2026

2026 will undoubtedly be another year of rapid change, but also significant opportunity for businesses that plan ahead.

If you would like support reviewing your business’s IT and cyber security for the year ahead, the Jam Cyber team can help.

Get in touch to discuss your 2026 strategy and ensure your business is prepared, protected, and positioned for growth.

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