2026 Whitepaper · Resiliency Series

Resilient Business in the Age of AI

Data backup and business continuity for the cloud and AI era — an updated, field-tested framework for SMB, PE-backed, and family-office leaders. Anchored in NIST CSF 2.0 and Zero Trust.

25 questions · 15 minutes · scored against NIST CSF 2.0 — your answers stay in your browser.
Small-business owner
Global Digital 2026 Edition
A Global Digital Whitepaper
Resilient Business in the Age of AI
Principal author — Mike Pearce · President & Founder
67%
of incidents are now rooted in identity-related attacks
Sophos Active Adversary Report 2026
$10.22M
record U.S. average cost of a data breach
IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025
96%
of cyber insurers now mandate enforced MFA
Coalition / Marsh McLennan 2024–25
/ 50
scored self-assessment across six NIST functions
Included free with the report
What's Inside

An evergreen framework, rebuilt for the cloud & AI era

The 2023 foundations still hold — know what you have, protect it in proportion to its value, verify you can recover it. What changed is the surface area, the threat model, and the regulatory backdrop.

01

The 2026 threat picture

Why identity — not AI — is where breaches actually happen, backed by current industry data.

  • Shadow AI and SaaS-to-SaaS supply-chain risk
  • The shared-responsibility reality for M365 & Workspace
  • Verified, current-edition statistics throughout
02

An updated framework

The Three Pillars sharpened for today, plus the controls insurers and auditors now expect.

  • Zero Trust & identity-centric resilience
  • 3-2-1-1-0 backup standard and a phased roadmap
  • A four-owner matrix — CFO, CIO, CISO, BU leader
03

A scored self-assessment

A working diagnostic that produces a maturity tier and a clear next step in 15 minutes.

  • 25 questions across the six NIST CSF 2.0 functions
  • Live score, subtotals, and Ad-Hoc → Managed tier
  • Private by design — nothing leaves your browser
In the Report

Ten sections, end to end

01Executive Summary
02The Changing Landscape of Risk
03Key Challenges + Shadow AI
04The Three Pillars Framework
05Cloud & AI Strategy
06Zero Trust & Identity New
07Cybersecurity & Insurance
08Implementation Roadmap & ROI
09Recommendations by Role
10Cloud & AI Resilience Self-Assessment
Cloud & AI Resilience Self-Assessment

How resilient is your business today?

Score your program against the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 in 15 minutes and see exactly where to invest next. Built on what we have learned across hundreds of SMB engagements.

15 min
25 questions · a maturity tier · a prioritized next step. Free, private, no sign-up.
Start the assessment
Global Digital leadership
About Global Digital

Former executives, not consultants.

Global Digital provides Strategic Leadership as a Service — fractional CIO, CTO, and CISO services — to SMBs, PE-backed companies, and family offices. We do not sell product. We work for our clients, and we prove resilience by the only test that matters: recovery.

Fractional CIO / CTO / CISO Fiercely tech-agnostic Practitioners, not advisors