AI-Powered Cyber Attacks: What Business Leaders Need to Know in 2025

AI-Powered Cyber Attacks Illustration

A recent Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) paper "Using AI for Offensive Security" (August 2024) led by SQUR's founder Adam Lundqvist, provides a comprehensive analysis of how artificial intelligence is transforming offensive security practices. While the paper primarily explores how AI can enhance security testing, it also highlights an important concern: threat actors are already actively using these same AI capabilities to enhance their attacks[1].

Building on these findings, a newly released paper from OpenAI Threat Intelligence, "Influence and Cyber Operations: an update" (October 2024),[3] offers fresh insight into how state-sponsored adversaries are covertly leveraging AI systems. This second paper was published after the CSA paper and draws on multiple examples of actors—such as SweetSpecter and STORM-0817—who have been caught using AI models to analyze vulnerabilities, build malware, and automate spam campaigns. While these tactics have not delivered profoundly new techniques beyond publicly available tools, they confirm that offensive AI usage continues to spread and evolve rapidly.

Understanding Today's AI-Powered Threats

Traditional cyber attacks required significant expertise and manual effort. Today's AI-powered tools have dramatically lowered these barriers. Attackers can now automatically scan for vulnerabilities, generate convincing phishing emails, and exploit weaknesses at scale—all while keeping costs low enough to make SMEs attractive targets.

Three Key Changes in the Threat Landscape

1. Automated Target Discovery

AI systems continuously scan the internet for vulnerable systems, making it easier for attackers to find targets. According to Microsoft's latest threat intelligence report, threat actors are actively using AI to automate the gathering and analysis of data on technologies and vulnerabilities, significantly enhancing their reconnaissance capabilities[2]. Meanwhile, examples in the new OpenAI research show how malicious actors rely on AI to debug and refine their scripts before distribution.

2. Advanced Social Engineering

Modern AI tools generate highly convincing phishing emails tailored to specific organizations. By analyzing public company data, these systems create targeted campaigns that can bypass traditional security awareness. The CSA paper specifically highlights how threat actors are using AI to craft context-specific, convincing phishing content. In tandem, the new OpenAI threat report details how real-world adversaries use AI to write deceptive posts or replies that mimic genuine users, sometimes achieving limited—but still concerning—reach on social platforms.

3. Autonomous Exploitation

Once vulnerabilities are found, AI systems help attackers develop and execute exploits faster than ever. Traditional security approaches that rely on annual testing can't keep pace with this automated threat landscape. As highlighted in the CSA paper, threat actors are employing AI to aid in developing and refining malicious scripts and malware. The OpenAI intelligence update echoes this, revealing how IRGC-affiliated CyberAv3ngers used AI to speed up their research into industrial control system vulnerabilities.

The Business Impact

For business leaders, this changing landscape has direct cost implications. While traditional security testing might seem expensive, the automated nature of modern attacks means that all businesses, regardless of size, face sophisticated threats daily. The average cost of a breach continues to rise, making prevention increasingly cost-effective compared to incident response.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

As threat actors increasingly leverage AI to enhance their capabilities, organizations need to adapt their defense strategies accordingly. The CSA paper emphasizes that traditional point-in-time security assessments are no longer sufficient in this rapidly evolving threat landscape, and the new OpenAI paper underscores the need for robust AI-powered defensive measures to identify and neutralize threats before they cause widespread harm.

Taking Action

To stay ahead of AI-powered threats, organizations need security testing that matches the speed and scale of modern attacks. Autonomous penetration testing provides continuous security validation that can keep pace with automated threats, enabling organizations to identify and address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. By adopting such proactive security measures, you ensure your defenses evolve as quickly as the threats they face.

To explore how autonomous pentesting can enhance your security program, visit SQUR's website.

References

  1. Cloud Security Alliance, "Using AI for Offensive Security", August 2024
  2. Microsoft Threat Intelligence, "Staying Ahead of Threat Actors in the Age of AI", February 2024
  3. OpenAI Threat Intelligence, "Influence and Cyber Operations: an update", October 2024