Cyber incidents have once again ranked as the top global business risk in 2026, with artificial intelligence jumping into second place, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer released on Wednesday.
Cyber remained at the top of the survey for the fifth consecutive year, with 42% of respondents responding, up from 38% last year. This was the biggest risk across all company sizes.
Thirty-two percent of respondents cited implementation challenges, accountability, and artificial intelligence, which includes misinformation and disinformation, up from 10% last year when it was in the top 10.
Allianz Commercial said in its report that both cyber and AI are now in the top five concerns for companies in nearly every industry sector.
“As AI adoption accelerates and becomes more deeply integrated into core business operations, respondents expect associated risks to increase,” the report states.
The 15th annual Allianz Risk Barometer comprises the opinions of 3,338 Allianz customers from approximately 100 countries and territories from October to November 2025.
Business interruption came in third place, down from second place last year, but remains a significant concern, cited by 29% of respondents (compared to 31% last year).
Changes in laws and regulations came in fourth place, cited by 26% of respondents, up from 25% last year. The report said concerns were heightened by factors such as tariffs.
Natural disasters fell from third to fifth place due to a milder hurricane season in 2025, and climate change fell from fifth to sixth place.
Political risks and violence, including war, political instability, terrorism, polarization, coups, civil unrest, strikes, riots and looting, rose from 9th to 7th place.
“Unsurprisingly, the risk businesses are most concerned about is war, followed by civil war, terrorism and government intervention,” the report says.
Macroeconomic development fell to 8th place from 7th place last year, and fires and explosions fell to 9th place from 6th place last year. The market trend has fallen from 8th place last year to 10th place.
