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Hackers gathered in their masses, just like witches at black masses.
Cyber warfare is a major concern for IT leaders, a new survey from security firm Armis revealed, and nation states are using AI to further their goals. Armis Labs polled over 1,800 IT leaders in companies with over 1,000 employees in the US, UK, Italy, France, Australia, and Germany for the report in December 2024.
Michael Freeman, head of threat intelligence at Armis, told IT Brew that the two big takeaways for him are that one, IT/OT environments appear to be a primary target for the attackers and, two, that AI is increasingly being deployed in unique ways.
“We definitely have seen an uptick in capabilities that can only be explained by using AI tech,” Freeman said.
War machine. The survey found that 73% of polled IT leaders had concerns that nation state actors might use AI in attacks, though 77% believed their organization had put in place defense to push back on the threat. Agentic AI is adding to the problem as the technology allows for easier tooling management in hacking campaigns.
“It’s much easier now for a talented person to not have to have three to four more people and use agentic AI on that process now and do it themselves—the tooling is there,” Freeman said. “We’re able to process and evaluate malware at a scale where, in the past, I’ve had 10 to 15 people on the team—and now I’ve got a process using AI where I can do it with two people.”
Sorcerers of death’s destruction. The survey found that nation state actors are seen as very dangerous to global cybersecurity, with 72% of those polled reporting that cyber war capabilities could set off a global cyber conflict with dire effects. But, the report added, 53% reported that they have faith in their government to defend against such attacks.
Despite the danger, Freeman told IT Brew, most state actors are focused on financial gain to fund operations rather than pushing for widespread chaos.
“They definitely have some capabilities that could do some very bad damage, if need be, but the focus is completely in a different area,” Freeman said.
As Armis Labs noted, the average global cost of a cyberattack in 2024 reached $4.88 million, up 10% from 2023. Of those polled, 67% said their organization has experienced at least one breach.