SonicWall Report Finds Preventable Risks Drive Breaches

The most dangerous cybersecurity threat facing businesses today isn’t a novel, AI-generated attack. It’s a stolen password, an unpatched system, and the quiet confidence that it won’t happen to you.

That is the sobering conclusion of the 2026 SonicWall Cyber Protect Report, released today. In a reframing of traditional threat reporting, the company has shifted its focus from merely tracking attack data to analyzing why some organizations remain protected while others do not. 

The answer, they found, lies in seven predictable, preventable failures they are calling the “Seven Deadly Sins of Cybersecurity.”

AI-driven attacks rise, but basic security gaps still dominate

While the report’s data confirms the threat landscape is becoming more precise with high- and medium-severity attacks surging 20.8% to 13.15 billion hits, the findings suggest attackers aren’t relying on cutting-edge exploits. Instead, they’re exploiting the same fundamental gaps that have existed for years.

“The vast majority of the attacks that we’re seeing and investigating are basic fundamentals that continue to be missed,” said Michael Crean, SVP and GM of managed security services at SonicWall. 

“The danger isn’t that AI isn’t working; it’s that we’re using it as an excuse not to do the things we already know we should.”

Seven recurring security failures continue to drive breaches

The report, built on data from SonicWall’s global network of over 1 million security sensors, identifies seven operational failures that recur in breach investigations. Instead of chasing hype, SonicWall argues, organizations need to focus on executing these basics.

The seven deadly sins of cybersecurity, as the report refers to them, are:

• Ignoring the fundamentals: The #1 attack vector isn’t a zero-day; it’s a stolen password. The report found that 85% of actionable security alerts came from credential and identity compromise.
• False confidence: The belief that being small makes you safe is a dangerous myth. The data shows 88% of SMB breaches involved ransomware in 2025, more than double the rate at large enterprises.
• Overexposed access: Once an attacker is in, what level of access do they find? The report notes that 48% of breaches start with compromised VPN credentials, and in one observed case, full network propagation took just 18 minutes.
• Reactive posture: When organizations aren’t watching, attackers are. The average breach goes undetected for 181 days, and a staggering 44% of all security alerts go uninvestigated due to overwhelming noise.
• Cost-driven decisions: Deferring security investment leads to catastrophic costs later. The average SMB breach cost was $4.91 million when downtime and recovery costs are included.
• Reliance on legacy access models: Traditional VPNs are a primary vulnerability. The report recorded 82.5% growth in VPN CVEs, with 60% rated as high or critical severity.
• Chasing hype: Buying the latest AI tool isn’t a strategy. The report warns that 90% of organizations lack AI maturity, and tools alone don’t create outcomes.

What MSPs should prioritize for SMB security in 2026

This year’s report marks a strategic shift for SonicWall, designed to equip managed service providers (MSPs) and MSSPs with the data and language needed to have more effective conversations with SMB decision-makers. 

Instead of bombarding business leaders with statistics, the report frames risk in terms of business outcomes such as breach prevention and operational resilience.

“The organizations that suffer the most are not failing because of sophisticated attacks, they’re failing because of predictable, preventable gaps,” Crean said in the report. 

“SMBs are the backbone of the U.S. economy, representing 99% of all U.S. businesses and nearly half of private sector employment. Protecting them protects entire communities. That’s why this report is designed around protection outcomes, not just threat statistics.”

We spoke with Crean in September 2025 about what MSPs and MSSPs should focus on with their clients in 2026. 

He emphasized the importance of basic security best practices even then, before the 2026 findings confirmed the need for foundational protections.

“I mean, I talk to MSPs and MSSPs every day, every week, every month, and I find very few that are really doing it all. Some of them are for sure, but even some of the ones that you think are the most mature can miss things,” Crean said.