The industry speaks, part 1: World Privacy Day 2026

Sam Salehi, Managing director, ANZ, Qualys

“On Data Privacy Day, enterprises should confront a modern reality: we’re handing over more data than we realise – not in a single breach moment, but through thousands of fast, everyday decisions.”

Thomas Fikentscher, Area vice president ANZ, CyberArk

“As AI systems move from analysis to autonomous decision making, Data Privacy Day is no longer just about how data is collected or stored – it’s about accountability. Organisations are deploying AI into high-impact environments faster than governance frameworks can keep up, raising hard questions around liability, data quality and oversight when AI-driven systems produce unintended consequences. While the scale of what AI can enable is compelling, there is a growing responsibility gap as AI decisions increasingly affect people, outcomes and trust.”

Olly Stimpson, Senior Manager, PAM transformation ANZ, CyberArk

“While we struck an optimistic tone on Data Privacy Day last year, 2025 regrettably saw several high-profile incidents across Australia and New Zealand in which significant volumes of personal data were compromised. Many of these attacks didn’t rely on new or exotic techniques, but on familiar weaknesses – social engineering, credential misuse, and gaps in identity and access controls, underscoring the lack of “control” that too often exists in corporate technology platforms. The result has been the same – widespread data exposure and a sharp erosion of trust.”

Gary Savarino

“We’ve entered a new era of enterprise complexity. AI agents now act autonomously, machine identities are multiplying, and sensitive data is constantly moving between systems, people and services. The security perimeters organisations once relied on, including networks, departments and firewalls, no longer hold.”