WatchGuard: AI tooling shifts attacks to precision strikes

WatchGuard's 1H 2026 Global Threat Report found network attack volume fell 79% while novel endpoint malware rose over 2,000% year-over-year. 95% of malware arrived over TLS, yet only 20% of deployed devices inspect encrypted traffic.

• Network attacks fell 79% while novel endpoint malware rose 2,000%
• 96% of endpoint threats appeared on exactly one machine
• 95% of malware arrived over TLS; only 20% of devices inspect it
• 41 new ransomware groups tracked; top 8 drove over half of ~5,000 claims