OKTA Stocks Have Doubled This Year — Here’s What’s Driving The Cybersecurity Rally
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CrowdStrike’s 2026 Global Threat Report, cited by IO Fund, found that AI-enabled adversaries increased their operations by 89% in 2025.
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IBM’s research shows that one in four security breaches is now AI-enabled, with those incidents costing roughly $6 million on average, versus a $4.99 million global average.
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The other major trend identified by IO Fund is happening inside corporate security departments, which is, customers are increasingly consolidating their spending across broader cybersecurity platforms.
Cybersecurity stocks have emerged as some of the biggest winners of the artificial intelligence boom in 2026, with investors betting that the same technology transforming businesses is also creating a new wave of security threats.
Okta Inc. (OKTA), CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (CRWD) and Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PLTR) are up 141%, 114% and 99%, respectively, through Oct. 30. The First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR) is also up nearly 40%, far ahead of the Nasdaq 100’s roughly 11% gain.
CrowdStrike shares closed more than 4% lower in Friday’s regular trading session, Palo Alto Networks shares fell nearly 4%, while Okta shares fell over 6%.
AI Is Creating A Bigger Cybersecurity Problem, Say Analysts
According to IO Fund, the first major driver behind the rally is the growing use of AI in cyberattacks and the expanding attack surface companies now have to defend.
CrowdStrike’s 2026 Global Threat Report, cited by IO Fund, found that AI-enabled adversaries increased their operations by 89% in 2025. IBM’s research shows that one in four security breaches is now AI-enabled, with those incidents costing roughly $6 million on average, versus a $4.99 million global average.
The threat is also pushing companies to increase spending. IO Fund cited IBM data showing that 85% of organizations plan to raise security spending after learning about the cyber capabilities of frontier AI models, up from 64% in 2025.
The shift is becoming particularly important as companies deploy increasingly autonomous AI agents that can write code, access systems and perform tasks with limited human intervention.
The firm also pointed to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s warning about the difficulty of securing increasingly capable AI systems: “I no longer think we’re gonna be able to just patch all the bugs,” Altman said during a speech at Stanford Graduate School of Business last month.
