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Top 10 op risks 2026: Cyber stays top, AI risk enters at fifth

Third-party and outsourcing risk climbs to third; fraud and fincrime edge out geopolitical risk

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Artificial intelligence risk has entered the Top 10 Operational Risks for 2026, vaulting from a handful of write-in entries in 2025’s survey to rank fifth in its own right in Risk.net’s annual poll. 

For several years, AI has loomed as a causal driver for other op risks, acting as an accelerant in particular for cyber threats, third-party risk and execution errors. This year, a plurality of

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