Kaspersky Warns AI Will Drive Major Cybersecurity Risks for the Global Entertainment Industry in 2026
Kaspersky has identified artificial intelligence as the central factor behind a new wave of cybersecurity threats expected to impact the global entertainment industry in 2026, according to its latest Kaspersky Security Bulletin.
The report highlights how AI is rapidly reshaping the way audiences buy tickets, consume content, and engage with games—while simultaneously enabling cybercriminals to target these same experiences with greater precision and scale. From ticketing platforms and visual effects pipelines to content delivery networks (CDNs), gaming ecosystems, and regulatory compliance, AI is emerging as both an enabler and a risk multiplier across the entertainment value chain.
AI-driven ticketing and resale manipulation
Kaspersky researchers warn that ticketing systems are increasingly vulnerable to AI-powered scalping operations. As event organizers adopt dynamic pricing models, malicious actors can use AI to identify high-demand events, deploy bots at scale, and continuously adjust resale prices across multiple platforms. Even when artists enforce fixed face values, AI-enabled resellers can effectively recreate dynamic pricing in secondary markets by reacting in real time to demand signals.
Visual effects supply chains under threat
As AI-based and cloud-enabled visual effects tools become more accessible, studios are relying on broader networks of freelancers and smaller post-production vendors. Kaspersky expects attackers to exploit this expanded supply chain by compromising render farms, plug-ins, or boutique studios, allowing them to quietly exfiltrate unreleased sequences, assets, or entire episodes—bypassing the more heavily secured environments of major studios.
Content delivery networks as high-value targets
CDNs now store and distribute unreleased episodes, game builds, and live streams for leading entertainment brands, concentrating high-value content within a limited number of providers. AI-enhanced attackers can more efficiently map CDN infrastructure, locate premium content, and identify weak credentials or configuration errors. A single breach could expose multiple titles simultaneously or enable the injection of malicious code into legitimate streams.
Abuse risks in games and fan communities
The report also flags growing risks tied to generative AI in gaming and fan-driven ecosystems. Players and advanced users are increasingly bypassing safeguards in in-game AI tools and content editors, or using external generative models to create prohibited material—such as extreme violence or sexualized scenarios—and reintegrating it into games, mods, or fan videos. There is also concern over personal data unintentionally appearing in AI-generated outputs when training or fine-tuning datasets are not properly sanitized.
Regulation and AI governance pressures
As regulators and industry bodies move toward stricter rules on transparency, consent, and licensing for AI-generated media, entertainment companies are expected to face new compliance challenges. Kaspersky anticipates the emergence of dedicated AI governance roles within studios and platforms, responsible for overseeing how AI tools are trained, deployed, and used in production and marketing, and for ensuring alignment with legal and contractual obligations.
“As we examined different parts of the industry, it became clear that AI is the thread running through most of the emerging risks,” said Anna Larkina, web content analysis expert at Kaspersky. “AI will not only help defenders detect anomalies faster, it will also enable attackers to model markets, probe infrastructure, and generate highly convincing malicious content. Entertainment companies need to treat AI systems—and the data behind them—as part of their core attack surface, not just as creative tools.”
Key recommendations for the entertainment sector
Kaspersky advises organizations operating in the entertainment industry to:
Map all AI usage across ticketing, production, distribution, and fan platforms, and include these systems in threat modeling and risk assessments.
Strengthen security requirements and monitoring for visual effects and post-production vendors, particularly those relying on cloud-based or AI-assisted tools.
Review CDN architectures and deploy advanced anomaly detection for traffic and access patterns, including activity routed through trusted providers.
Conduct thorough security and privacy reviews of generative AI deployments in games, marketing, and fan-facing services, with clear rules governing training data, data retention, and permissible outputs.
The full analysis of AI-driven threats and scenarios affecting the entertainment industry is available in the Kaspersky Security Bulletin.