What executive teams will be expected to demonstrate to boards before AI deployments, regulations, and outages force the issue.
“The Domain Name System (DNS) underpins every digital service. Yet DNS audits reveal compliance gaps in security policy enforcement. A brand’s digital identity is the new perimeter, and a Brand Top-Level Domain signals trust, operating under a single end-to-end DNS security automation control environment that delivers on these board mandates.”
— Peter LaMantia, CEO, Authentic Web Inc.
This paper examines public statements from senior enterprise executives and boards who have declared their information security and infrastructure mandates for 2026.
It explores an opportunity for executives to deliver a compelling win—and deliver on board mandates—by focusing on a consistently underserved enterprise weak spot: Digital Identity Management and Security of Domains and DNS Networks.
Contents
A. Executive Overview
B. Board Mandates: Implications for Executive Leadership and Teams
- Operationalizing AI Security & Governance
- Zero-Trust and Identity Sovereignty
- Mandatory Regulatory Compliance
- Cyber Resilience as “Enterprise Survival + Sovereignty”
C. Executive Playbook to Deliver 2026 Board Mandates
- Board Mandates
- Common Failures
- Actions to Meet Board Mandates
D. Summary and Conclusion
Executive Overview
A. Board Expectations are Getting Real
Boards no longer accept general assurances that digital identity and network risk are being managed. They now require executive leadership to prove control over the systems that define how customers, employees, partners, and automated systems reach the business—and decide what to trust.
Trust in a brand’s digital identity has become the key.
Artificial intelligence is moving out of pilot phases and into deployed systems that touch customer experience and operations, complete with automated identity decision-making. When those systems fail, boards focus on ownership and accountability, not technical detail.
Regulatory expectations are tightening, reporting timelines are shrinking, and outages that once stayed buried in IT are now broadcast publicly across digital identity spaces. These events are no longer seen as bad luck but as failures of governance oversight.
Organizations have built sophisticated technology stacks on weakly governed digital identity foundations. External endpoints are fragmented across business units, IT teams, and vendors—often without change controls, centralized visibility, or consistent governance.
Why Board Mandates Have Evolved in 2026
Boards are not suddenly interested in critical infrastructure details. They are reacting to evidence and outcomes that put the business at risk, and they want more than platitudes—they demand proof.
Organizations are moving faster than their control systems:
- Cloud adoption accelerated
- SaaS usage expanded
- Security tooling multiplied
- AI initiatives are advancing
- Digital identity is trust, and it is both private and public
Control was simply assumed as modernization and innovation speed took priority. That assumption has started to break down:
- AI is being embedded in live workflows and networks
- Regulators expect faster and clearer explanations as well as proof of control
- Outages caused by errors or external dependencies are now public
- Malicious actors are becoming more sophisticated and active, targeting the weak
Dependencies on hidden system risks have become systemic. This covers all of the following:
- Supply chain security
- Digital identity sovereignty
- Zero-trust architectures
- Control plane ownership (domains, DNS, certificates)
- AI chain of trust and authenticity
The core question has changed. Boards no longer ask whether systems are secure—they ask leadership to prove control, accountability, and recovery before and after something breaks.
This paper outlines four board mandates declared by medium and large organizations for 2026. It provides a playbook of direct actions that leadership can take to establish digital identity controls. With these actions, leaders can deliver on the mandates, secure their business, and protect customers to get the win.