AI Cyberattacks: Speed & Scale — Editors Discuss Threats

AI is increasingly helping cyber attackers speed up and scale their operations. Four ISMG editors recently discussed this growing role of artificial intelligence in cyberattacks. What's interesting is that while AI boosts attack speed and scale, it hasn't fundamentally changed how intrusions are carried out. The panel also covered OpenAI's decision to pause frontier model training. This pause comes from concerns that cybersecurity safeguards aren't keeping pace with advanced AI systems. Black Hat 2026 also featured discussions on AI security. Key topics included agentic AI as an unmanaged workforce, data-centric controls, and the speed of AI-driven attacks and defenses. This matters because understanding these trends helps us prepare for evolving cyber threats.