Many organizations are already struggling to cope with the sheer volume of cyberattacks targeting them. The problem is likely to get significantly worse as increasing numbers of criminals try their luck, and as the capabilities of publicly available generative AI systems continue to improve. Earlier this month, AI company Anthropic claimed that Mythos, a model it’s developed and is now testing, found thousands of critical vulnerabilities, including some in every major operating system and web browser. Anthropic says all of them have been patched, but it’s delaying the model’s release as a result of these new capabilities and set up a consortium of tech companies called Project Glasswing that it says will try to put these capabilities to work for defensive purposes in the meantime.
Right now, cybersecurity researchers are optimistic that sloppier attacks can be thwarted through basic defenses, highlighting just how important it is to keep on top of software updates and stick to network security protocols. How well positioned we’ll be to ward off more sophisticated attacks in the future is much less clear.
The good news is that AI is also being used to defend. Each day, Microsoft—just one of the many businesses keeping tabs on such threats—processes more than 100 trillion signals flagged by its AI systems as potentially malicious or suspicious. The company says that between April 2024 and April 2025, it managed to block $4 billion worth of scams and fraudulent transactions, many of which may have been aided by AI content. The same technology that makes such attacks possible could also be our best bet at keeping us safe in years to come.