The Coeus Chronicle: Volume 1, Issue 1 (January 2026)
2026 is already providing signals worth watching. Cyber fraud is moving higher on executives' agendas, businesses are discovering what separates productive AI investments from expensive experiments, and Microsoft is warning about a security deadline buried deep inside nearly every Windows PC. Here is what those developments mean for growing businesses.
The Omen
Signals of Change
Fraud Overtakes Ransomware
Ransomware may generate the biggest headlines, but business leaders are increasingly worried about something more familiar: fraud. The World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026, released January 12, found that 73% of respondents had personally experienced cyber-enabled fraud or knew someone who had during 2025. CEOs now rank cyber-enabled fraud as their top cyber concern, shifting attention away from ransomware toward fraud and emerging AI risks.
Coeus Perspective: Modern fraud increasingly combines compromised accounts, convincing social engineering, impersonation, stolen information, and legitimate business processes. The attack may look less like a traditional “hack” and more like a believable invoice, payment request, password reset, or message from someone you trust.
Coeus Insight: Cybersecurity needs to protect business transactions as well as computers. Strong identity controls and independent verification of sensitive financial or account changes can stop a convincing message from becoming a costly mistake.
Source: World Economic Forum, Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026, January 12, 2026
The Proven Path
Strategies for Today
AI ROI Starts With the Foundation
The rush to adopt AI is giving way to a harder question: is it actually improving the business? PwC’s January CEO survey found that only 12% of CEOs reported both increased revenue and reduced costs from AI. Organizations with strong AI foundations, including responsible AI frameworks and technology environments capable of integrating AI across the business, were three times more likely to report meaningful financial returns.
Coeus Perspective: Buying an AI tool is easy. Creating business value requires usable data, defined workflows, appropriate security, employee adoption, and a way to measure whether the process actually improved.
Coeus Insight: Start with a measurable business problem, not an AI product. Get the underlying data, process, and accountability right before scaling the technology.
Source: PwC, 29th Global CEO Survey, January 19, 2026
The Horizon
Preparing for Tomorrow
A Deadline Hidden Inside Windows
Microsoft is warning businesses about an unusual 2026 deadline. Secure Boot certificates used by most Windows devices begin expiring in June. These certificates help Windows verify trusted software before the operating system starts, and replacement certificates are being introduced to keep devices eligible for future boot-level security protections. Most devices are expected to receive the updates automatically, but Microsoft warns that organizations may need to take action depending on how their systems are managed.
Coeus Perspective: This is a good example of why technology lifecycle management extends beyond installing monthly patches. Certificates, firmware, hardware support, and other components underneath the operating system have lifecycles of their own. Good technology management means tracking those hidden dependencies and seeing deadlines before they become emergencies.
Coeus Insight: Businesses should confirm that their managed Windows devices are prepared to receive the replacement Secure Boot certificates, particularly older or tightly managed systems, before the June expirations begin.
Source: Microsoft, Windows Secure Boot Certificate Expiration and CA Updates
The Agora
Meet Coeus
Protecting Your People Wherever Work Happens
Live Coeus + Cisco Briefing | Coming in February
Work no longer happens inside a traditional network perimeter. In February, Coeus Consulting and Cisco Systems will host a live briefing on the changing world of authentication and borderless security, including passwordless authentication, protecting users wherever they work, and bringing identity and cloud-delivered security together into a more cohesive strategy.
Join us in February to see how modern authentication and security are evolving for the work-from-anywhere business.