Lessons Learned from 2025 And What Financial Institutions Should Prepare for in 2026

As 2025 comes to a close, one theme stands out for community financial institutions: cybersecurity is no longer about reacting to individual threats. It is about managing sustained, enterprise-wide risk.

This year highlighted where programs were working, and where gaps became impossible to ignore. Below are the most common lessons we observed in 2025, followed by what should be top-of-mind as institutions look ahead to 2026.

Key Lessons from 2025

1. A Documented Program Is Not the Same as an Operational One

Many institutions entered 2025 with the right components in place, policies, tools, and vendors, but struggled with consistency and execution.

Common challenges included:

• • Controls that existed on paper but were not routinely validated
  • Risk assessments that did not meaningfully drive priorities
  • Board reporting focused on activity instead of risk

Lesson learned: Cybersecurity maturity is measured by how decisions are made, not how many documents exist.

2. Vendor Risk Remained a Top Exposure

Third-party dependencies continued to create operational and security risk, especially where critical vendors were not clearly identified or continuously monitored.

Institutions often struggled with:

• • Understanding true business impact of vendor failures
  • Overreliance on SOC reports without context
  • Scaling vendor oversight with limited resources
  Lesson learned: Vendor management must focus on ownership and impact, not just artifact collection.

3. Incident Response Plans Were Put to the Test

From ransomware concerns to upstream vendor issues, 2025 forced institutions to confront hard questions around decision-making, communication, and escalation.

Tabletop exercises frequently revealed:

• • Unclear roles during an incident
  • Unrealistic response assumptions
  • Gaps between IT response and executive leadership needs

Lesson learned: A plan that has not been tested is not a plan; it is a placeholder.

4. Board Expectations Continued to Rise

Boards increasingly asked for:

• • Clear articulation of cyber risk in business terms
  • Trend-based reporting
  • Alignment between risk appetite and management actions

This shift required management teams to rethink how cybersecurity information is framed and delivered.

Lesson learned: Effective board reporting supports decisions; it does not overwhelm with detail.

What to Expect in 2026

1. Greater Focus on Risk-Based Decision Making

In 2026, institutions will continue moving away from static compliance and toward:

• • Defined cybersecurity risk appetite
  • Meaningful risk indicators
  • Prioritization tied to business impact

Clear risk tolerance will be essential for defending decisions to regulators, auditors, and boards.

2. Increased Scrutiny on Governance and Accountability

Regulatory conversations are increasingly centered on:

• • Oversight and management involvement
  • Evidence that risk is understood, not just documented
  • Program effectiveness
  Institutions should expect fewer checklist discussions and more outcome-based evaluations.

3. More Intentional Resourcing Conversations

Financial institutions and regulators are acknowledging that cybersecurity cannot sit with one person.

In 2026, success will depend on:

• • Clearly defined ownership
  • Integrated internal and external support
  • Realistic expectations aligned to size and complexity

4. Better Use of Existing Data

Most institutions already collect valuable security and risk data. The opportunity in 2026 is using it more effectively: turning metrics into trends and trends into action.

Closing Thoughts

If 2025 taught us anything, it is that cybersecurity is an enterprise risk issue, not a standalone function. The goal for 2026 is not perfection; it is clarity: clarity around risk, ownership, and priorities.

At Bedel Security, we are dedicated to assisting financial institutions in establishing and sustaining robust information security programs. If you are seeking to advance your program in 2026, let’s collaborate. Contact us any time!