Announcing The Forrester Wave™: Cybersecurity Skills And Training Platforms, Q1 2026

2026-03-11 · Source: Featured Blogs - Forrester · Field: Technology & Digital — Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning · Depth: Intermediate, quick

Summary

The Forrester Wave™: Cybersecurity Skills And Training Platforms, Q1 2026 report evaluates vendors in a market experiencing rapid evolution since its first evaluation in 2023. This report addresses the increasing pressure on security leaders to demonstrate readiness and resilience, driven by automation and AI compressing attacker timelines and blurring security role boundaries. Key shifts include AI reshaping attacker and defender workflows, a focus on team-based readiness over individual skills, skills verification replacing certification as a hiring signal, and boards/regulators demanding proof of resilience. Platforms must now offer continuous updates to keep pace with emerging threats and AI-driven attack patterns, moving beyond point-in-time certification prep.

Key takeaway

For CISOs under pressure to prove organizational readiness, prioritize Cybersecurity Skills and Training (CS&T) platforms that emphasize team-based readiness and measurable skill development. Your platform choice should support complex, cross-functional simulations and provide analytics that quantify progress against frameworks like MITRE and NICE. This approach will help you justify investments, inform cyber insurance conversations, and meet regulatory scrutiny by demonstrating tangible resilience.

Key insights

Cybersecurity training platforms must now prioritize team-based readiness and continuous, AI-informed skill verification over individual certifications.

Principles

• AI reshapes attacker and defender workflows.
• Team-based readiness is critical for incident response.
• Skills verification replaces certification for hiring.

Method

CS&T platforms should simulate complex enterprise environments, evaluate team performance collectively, and provide analytics aligned with frameworks like MITRE and NICE.

In practice

• Evaluate AI-generated outputs and new attack chains.
• Support cross-functional simulations for cloud/hybrid environments.
• Align skill development with MITRE and NICE frameworks.

Topics

• Cybersecurity Skills Training
• AI in Cybersecurity
• Team-Based Security Readiness
• Threat Velocity
• Skills Verification

Best for: VP of Engineering/Data, Executive, CTO, AI Security Engineer, Security Engineer

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Featured Blogs - Forrester.