compliance•November 25, 2025•Sameer Shrestha

The Future of Essential Eight: What’s Changing in 2026 and How to Stay Compliant?

The Essential Eight in 2026: What Organizations Should Expect Next

The Essential Eight is no longer just a cybersecurity recommendation—it has become the baseline of cyber resilience across Australia. But as cyber threats evolve, so does the framework.‍

Looking ahead to 2026, organisations should expect shifts in maturity expectations, new controls influenced by AI-driven threats, tighter government requirements, and greater emphasis on automation and continuous monitoring.

Here’s what’s coming next, and how to prepare.

1. Higher Maturity Expectations (ML2 Becomes the Baseline)

Today, many businesses still sit at Maturity Level 1 or “partial compliance.”
By 2026, this won’t be acceptable.

Expect:

  • ML2 to become recommended for all industries
  • ML3 required for high-risk sectors
  • More direct alignment with PSPF/DSPF requirements
  • Stricter auditing and evidence retention‍

2. New Controls for AI-Driven Threats

AI-generated phishing, automated reconnaissance, and real-time credential cracking are already here.

By 2026, ASD may update the Essential Eight to include:

  • AI phishing detection requirements
  • Advanced mailbox anomaly detection
  • Automated threat pattern recognition
  • Stronger browser + email hardening‍

3. MFA Will Evolve Into Phishing-Resistant MFA

In 2026, MFA will move beyond SMS and email codes.
Expect Essential Eight guidance to favour:

  • FIDO2/WebAuthn
  • Passkeys
  • Hardware security keys (YubiKey, Feitian)
  • Device-bound cryptographic authentication

4. Privileged Access Will Require Automation & Zero Trust

Identity will become the #1 attack vector.
Essential Eight will likely emphasise:

  • Automated provisioning & deprovisioning
  • Continuous session monitoring
  • Time-limited access (Just-in-Time)
  • Automated privileged account discovery
  • Zero Trust identity verification

5. Backup Requirements Will Become More Rigorous

Modern ransomware deletes backups first.
Expect 2026 requirements to highlight:

  • Immutable storage
  • Offline (air-gapped) backup requirements
  • Automated backup integrity checks
  • Mandatory restore testing
  • Tighter backup admin privileges

Businesses will need proof that backups cannot be altered by attackers.

6. Continuous Monitoring Will Replace Point-in-Time Compliance

Manual spreadsheets will no longer be enough.

In 2026, Essential Eight will lean toward:

  • Real-time control verification
  • Automated compliance monitoring
  • SIEM/SOAR-assisted evidence collection
  • Continuous vulnerability scanning
  • Real-time alerts for drifts in posture‍

7. Yearly (or More Frequent) Essential Eight Assessments

With higher expected maturity, many industries will require:

  • Annual audits
  • Third-party assessments
  • Quarterly vulnerability reviews
  • Mandatory remediation timelines

Think SOC 2 + ISO 27001 audit models, now applied to Essential Eight.

8. Greater Alignment With SOC 2, ISO 27001 & DSPF

We predict the ASD will introduce more crosswalks aligning:

  • Essential Eight → ISO 27001 Annex A
  • Essential Eight → SOC 2 CC Series
  • Essential Eight → NIST CSF 2.0
  • Essential Eight → PSPF/DSPF

This will make multi-framework compliance easier, especially for SaaS and MSPs.‍

9. Automation Will Become the Only Practical Path to ML2/ML3

The amount of ongoing evidence collection required for higher maturity levels is too much for manual processes.

Expect organisations to adopt automation tools to manage:

  • Control monitoring
  • Policy enforcement
  • Risk scoring
  • Employee verification
  • Evidence collection
  • Alerting for misconfigurations

By 2026, businesses that don’t automate will fall behind.

10. More Government Incentives & Mandatory Reporting Expansion

We expect:

  • Expanded cyber maturity reporting
  • Industry-specific Essential Eight add-ons
  • New funding incentives for cyber uplift
  • Tighter supplier requirements for government contracts

Critical infrastructure especially will see more stringent rules.

Key Takeaways for 2026 Essential Eight

  • ML2 will become the standard baseline
  • AI threats will drive new control expectations
  • MFA will transition to phishing-resistant methods
  • Identity governance will be central to compliance
  • Backups must become immutable and tamper-proof
  • Continuous monitoring becomes mandatory
  • Automation becomes essential, not optional‍

How ZeroTB Prepares You for Essential Eight in 2026

ZeroTB is built to help organisations scale to future maturity levels through:

• Continuous monitoring

• Automated evidence collection

• Real-time gap analysis

• Policy templates aligned to Essential Eight

• Identity & privilege visibility

• AI-driven remediation insights

• Multi-framework control mapping (SOC 2, ISO, NIST)

ZeroTB keeps you compliant today, and ready for 2026.‍

Ready to Prepare for 2026 Essential Eight Requirements?

👉 Signup to ZeroTB to future-proof your Essential Eight compliance journey.

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