Adversaries Leverage AI for Vulnerability Exploitation, Augmented Operations, and Initial Access


Since our February 2026 report on AI-related threat activity, Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has continued to track a maturing transition from nascent AI-enabled operations to the industrial-scale application of generative models within adversarial workflows. This report, based on insights derived from Mandiant incident response engagements, Gemini, and GTIG’s proactive research, highlights the dual nature of the current threat environment where AI serves as both a sophisticated engine for adversary operations and a high-value target for attacks. We explore the following developments: Vulnerability Discovery and Exploit Generation; AI-Augmented Development for Defense Evasion; Autonomous Malware Operations; AI-Augmented Research and IO: Obfuscated LLM Access; Supply Chain Attacks.

Read more…
Source: Google Threat Intelligence Group


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • A timeline of South Korean telco giant SKT’s data breach

    May 8, 2025

    In April, South Korea’s telco giant SK Telecom (SKT) was hit by a cyberattack that led to the theft of personal data on approximately 23 million customers, equivalent to almost half of the country’s 52 million residents. At a National Assembly hearing in Seoul on Thursday, SKT chief executive Young-sang Ryu said about 250,000 users have ...

  • Multiple vulnerabilities in SonicWall SMA 100 series (FIXED)

    May 7, 2025

    In April of 2025, Rapid7 discovered and disclosed three new vulnerabilities affecting SonicWall Secure Mobile Access (“SMA”) 100 series appliances (SMA 200, 210, 400, 410, 500v). These vulnerabilities are tracked as CVE-2025-32819, CVE-2025-32820, and CVE-2025-32821. An attacker with access to an SMA SSLVPN user account can chain these vulnerabilities to make a sensitive system directory writable, ...

  • Russia: Damage from phone scammers in Russia exceeded $2.1 bln in 2024

    May 7, 2025

    More than 640,000 cases of remote fraud were reported in Russia in 2024, while the damage they caused exceeded 170 billion rubles ($2.1 bln), the Public Relations Center of the Federal Security Service (FSB), reported. According to the FSB, “the measures taken stopped the functioning of the illicit virtual communications center, seized more than 1,200 SIM ...

  • State of ransomware in 2025

    May 7, 2025

    With the International Anti-Ransomware Day just around the corner on May 12, Kaspersky explores the ever-changing ransomware threat landscape and its implications for cybersecurity. According to Kaspersky Security Network data, the number of ransomware detections decreased by 18% from 2023 to 2024 – from 5,715,892 to 4,668,229. At the same time, the share of users affected ...

  • Cyber Criminal Proxy Services Exploiting End of Life Routers

    May 7, 2025

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is issuing this announcement to inform individuals and businesses about proxy services taking advantage of end of life routers that are susceptible to vulnerabilities. When a hardware device is end of life, the manufacturer no longer sells the product and is not actively supporting the hardware, which also means ...

  • Proof-of-Concept Released for SysAid On-Premise

    May 7, 2025

    In March 2025, SysAid released updates addressing XML (extensible markup language) external entity vulnerabilities and an OS command injection vulnerability in its on-premise platform. SysAid is an IT service management platform. Cyber Security firm watchTowr Labs has released proof-of-concept exploit code for four vulnerabilities, which were addressed in SysAid’s March 2025 release. The first two vulnerabilities, ...