CrowdStrike’s 2026 Threat Hunting Report describes adversaries targeting trusted users and tools across identity systems, cloud environments, SaaS apps, AI services, software supply chains, and developer workflows.

This matters because “trusted” activity often receives less scrutiny. A vendor account, API token, remote-management tool, or developer credential may already have the access an attacker wants.

The Verizon 2026 DBIR found that 96% of ransomware victims are small and mid-size businesses. For executives, that's not a footnote — it's a supply chain risk. The same mid-market vendors you depend on for facilities, IT services, and logistics are the ones ransomware groups are targeting. An unpatched phone system at a vendor, a breach at a service provider, or a single ransomware incident in your supply chain can cascade into operational disruption, data exposure, and regulatory fallout. Threat intelligence programs that only track direct attacks on the enterprise are missing the larger attack surface.