UK Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Outlook for 2026: What Financial Services Firms Need To Know

Last year saw many developments across the international data privacy and cybersecurity landscape, and this momentum shows no sign of slowing.

In the UK, 2025 saw the rollout of major legislative and policy initiatives, most notably the finalisation of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and the introduction of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. At the same time, rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) continue to intensify cybersecurity and privacy risks. Together, these developments require organisations to adopt a forward-looking approach to managing data privacy, cybersecurity and AI risk.

This article first appeared on Thomson Reuters on February 17, 2026 and can be viewed here.