Kaspersky’s new online tool has been specially developed for industrial organisations to assess the potential costs associated with insufficient operational technology (OT) security.

By offering detailed financial forecasts, the calculator empowers senior management to make well-informed decisions regarding security investments.

Industrial organisations increasingly depend on interconnected systems, elevating cybersecurity to a critical factor in business resilience and profitability.

According to VDC Research, over 60% of industrial companies last year reported that cybersecurity breaches had led to significant costs. Despite this, a persistent disconnect remains between security teams and executive leadership as security professionals focus on minimising risk, while executives must balance cybersecurity concerns with broader business objectives. This misalignment often results in competing priorities and underfunded security initiatives.

To bridge this gap, Kaspersky has launched the OT Cybersecurity Savings Calculator, an innovative online tool designed specifically for industrial organisations to assess the potential costs of inadequate operational technology (OT) security¹.

The primary aim of this tool is to translate cyber risks into tangible financial metrics and support strategic discussions around priorities and budget allocation. By entering details such as their sector, sub-sector, region, company size, breach history, and existing cybersecurity measures, organisations can estimate their potential cost savings and receive customised, actionable recommendations.

The calculator benchmarks performance against industry peers and highlights the company’s position within the current threat landscape.

“We believe this calculator is a powerful resource for transforming complex cyber risk data into straightforward financial insights. It enables OT leaders, security professionals, and executive teams to develop clear, data-driven business cases and recognise the value of cybersecurity investments. With actionable guidance, it promotes a comprehensive approach to resource management and strengthens overall organisational resilience,” comments Andrey Strelkov, Head of Industrial Cybersecurity Product line at Kaspersky.

Gold prices smashed through $5,100 per ounce on Monday, January 26, surging to a historic peak of $5,110.50 as investors rushed into the safe-haven asset amid escalating geopolitical tensions and U.S. policy volatility.

Gold

Spot gold climbed 2.2% to $5,089.78 by 0656 GMT, while U.S. February futures rose similarly to $5,086.30. The metal, up 64% in 2025—its strongest annual gain since 1979—has now advanced over 18% year-to-date, fueled by safe-haven buying, anticipated U.S. rate cuts, China’s 14th consecutive month of central bank purchases in December, and massive ETF inflows.

Analysts point to a crisis of confidence in U.S. assets, sparked by President Trump’s erratic threats last week. He retreated from tariffs on European allies to pressure Greenland seizure, then vowed 100% tariffs on Canada over a potential China trade deal and 200% on French wines to push President Emmanuel Macron toward a “Board of Peace” initiative.

“This Trump administration has caused a permanent rupture in global norms, driving everyone to gold as the sole refuge,” said Kyle Rodda, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

A weakening dollar—hit by a rising yen and pre-Fed meeting caution—further boosted gold’s appeal for non-dollar holders, with markets eyeing possible yen intervention.

In its Kaspersky Security Bulletin, the cybersecurity company’s researchers identified critical threats expected to affect the global entertainment industry in 2026, from ticketing and visual effects pipelines to content delivery networks, games and regulation.

Artificial intelligence is changing how people buy tickets, watch movies and play games – and it is also changing how malicious actors target those experiences.

The entertainment industry is particularly sensitive to AI because the technology does not only automate back-office workflows; it increasingly creates and imitates the core product itself – human-centered stories, performances and visual experiences.

Kaspersky researchers highlighted five critical threats emerging as AI integrates deeper into entertainment workflows and consumer experiences.

What happens when ticket markets become an arms race between algorithms and scalpers? Kaspersky predicts that AI will make dynamic pricing faster and more granular, while also giving scalpers better tools to identify profitable events, deploy bots at scale and manage resale pricing across multiple platforms.

Even when artists choose fixed face values, AI-driven resellers can recreate “dynamic” pricing on secondary markets by adjusting prices in real time based on demand signals.

How will AI-commodified visual effects affect the risk of leaks? As high-end computer-generated imagery becomes more accessible through cloud-based AI platforms, studios will connect to larger networks of small vendors and freelancers.

Kaspersky expects attackers to target this extended supply chain by compromising render farms, plug-ins or small post-production houses in order to quietly steal sequences, assets or episodes before release, bypassing more heavily protected studio environments.

Could content delivery networks become a direct target? CDNs now carry unreleased episodes, game builds and live streams for many major entertainment brands, concentrating valuable content in a small number of providers.

AI-enhanced attackers will be able to map CDN infrastructure more efficiently, locate where premium content resides and search for weak credentials or configuration errors. A single successful compromise could expose multiple titles at once or allow malicious code to be injected into legitimate streams.

How will generative tools change abuse patterns in games and fan communities? Players and power users will continue to jailbreak in-game AI companions and content editors, and to use external generative models to produce material that would normally be blocked – such as hyper-violent or sexualized scenarios – and then reimport it into games, mods, or fan videos.

There is also a risk of personal data appearing in “creative” outputs if training or fine-tuning data is not properly cleaned, for example, when lyrics, dialogue, or imagery inadvertently include real names or other identifying details.

What role will regulation and compliance play for AI in creative work? Lawmakers and industry groups are moving toward rules that require transparency about AI-generated media and clearer consent and licensing practices for training on copyrighted material.

Kaspersky expects this to drive the creation of new roles inside entertainment companies, similar to COVID-compliance managers on film sets, focused on AI governance: checking how AI tools are trained, how they are used in production and marketing, and whether they comply with contractual and legal requirements.

“As we examined different parts of the industry, it became clear that AI is the thread running through most of the emerging risks.

“By diving into this, we wanted to highlight that AI will not only help defenders detect anomalies faster, it will also help attackers model markets, probe infrastructure and generate convincing malicious content.

“Studios, platforms and rights holders need to treat AI systems, and the data behind them, as part of their core attack surface, not just as creative tools, and build security and governance around that reality,” said Anna Larkina, web content analysis expert at Kaspersky.