Armis Warns Federal Cyberwarfare is Escalating in Complexity – What it Means for Agency Security Teams

Cyberwarfare is not a buzzword in the U.S. Federal space. More specifically, for the warfighter and the leadership tasked with their protection, it isn’t a theoretical exercise or an IT inconvenience. It is a daily operational reality that determines whether a mission succeeds or a life is lost.

This has been true for the past decade, and now more than ever we need to heighten our defenses against the increasing capabilities of our adversaries. Especially as the 2026 Armis Federal State of Cyberwarfare Report reveals a stark disconnect: while agencies feel prepared on paper, the battlefield tells a different story.

When an F-35’s command and control systems go down, or when operational technology (OT) on an aircraft carrier is compromised, the result isn’t a help desk ticket; it’s a failed mission and the potential loss of American lives.

The convergence of IT and OT means the digital world and the physical battlefield are now one. Our adversaries aren’t just stealing data; they are targeting the systems that keep our boots on the ground safe and our defenses operational.

The tempo of conflict has also changed in the AI-accelerated battlefield. Advanced technologies are not a future threat, with AI currently being used by adversaries to compress the time between reconnaissance and a lethal strike.

• The Threat is Immediate: 57% of Federal IT decision-makers say the cyberwarfare threat is imminent and have had to report an act of cyberwarfare to authorities.
• The Policy Gap: Our innovation in policy and regulation is being outrun by the pace of adversary AI. 65% believe the current pace of AI innovation is outrunning cybersecurity policy and regulation.
• The Decryption Risk: The arrival of quantum capabilities means today’s secure communications are tomorrow’s open books for nation-states like China and Russia.

The most dangerous finding in our research is the “False Confidence Gap.” While 81% of Federal IT leaders believe they are prepared to handle a cyberwarfare attack and respond to related risks, nearly 60% admit their agencies have been hacked previously and still not managed to adequately secure their ecosystem.

Adversaries do not care about compliance frameworks or static inventories. They live in the gaps: the unmanaged assets, the misconfigured sensors, and the lateral paths that lead directly to mission-critical systems. True readiness doesn’t come from checking the box, but instead is measured by the ability to see and defend every asset in real-time.

To add, our research found that cyber risk is currently impeding federal modernization. 60% of agencies have stalled or stopped digital transformation projects due to cyberwarfare risks. This hesitation is a strategic vulnerability. When we stop modernizing, we rely on legacy systems that are easier to exploit. When innovation slows, the warfighter loses their edge. We cannot afford to let fear dictate our technical superiority.

From Reactive Defense to Operational Resilience

We must move past reactive incident response. If a system is shut down after an attack, the resiliency has already failed. We need a proactive, intelligence-driven defense that can fight through the attack and maintain mission continuity under fire.

Armis Centrix™—the FedRAMP, DISA IL, and On-Prem Cyber Exposure Management Platform—is designed for this environment. Armis Centrix™ for OT/IoT Security (On-Prem) specializes in robust IT/OT convergence, managing the localized security requirements in specialized technology, air-gapped environments, and sensitive critical networks. Armis provides the continuous visibility required to:

• Validate Preparedness: Know your exposure before the adversary does.
• Neutralize AI-Driven Attacks: Match the speed of the machine with automated defense.
• Protect the Mission: Ensure that when the fight starts, the lights stay on and the comms stay up.

The 2026 report confirms that the cyber backbone of our warfighting power is being directly threatened. In an era of sustained conflict, real-time visibility, intelligence and risk mitigation are no longer optional, they are a critical imperative for mission success.

Read the full 2026 Armis Cyberwarfare Report here.