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:

  • Swedish government IT system hacked

    March 13, 2026

    A large amount of sensitive information allegedly coming from a Swedish government IT system has been posted on the darknet, according to Dagens Nyheter and Expressen. DN writes that the newspaper has taken note of the leak and that it appears to contain the source code for a digital identity management system used by several authorities. ...

  • Poland investigates Iran links behind cyberattack on nuclear facility

    March 12, 2026

    Poland is looking into whether an attempted cyberattack on a nuclear research facility was carried out by Iran, the government said on Thursday. The country’s digital minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said in an emailed statement that Poland had “identified an attempted cyberattack on the servers of the National Centre for Nuclear Research,” which authorities had thwarted. He ...

  • Telus probes cybersecurity incident that ‘ShinyHunters’ group claims responsibility for

    March 12, 2026

    Canadian telecommunications and business services firm Telus is investigating a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to some ‌of its systems, a company spokesperson said on Thursday. The ShinyHunters hacking group told Reuters in a message it stole at least 700 terabytes ​of data from Telus. All business ​operations within the company “remain fully operational, and there ...

  • CISA warns max-severity n8n bug is being exploited in the wild

    March 12, 2026

    The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has confirmed that hackers are exploiting a max-severity remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in workflow automation platform n8n. CISA urged all federal civilian executive branch (FCEB) agencies to patch CVE-2025-68613 at once because it carries a near-perfect 9.9 vulnerability score. The bug was first disclosed in December, and ...

  • Iran-linked hackers launch cyberattack against U.S. medtech company Stryker

    March 11, 2026

    U.S. medical technology company Stryker is currently experiencing a massive cyberattack, which has shut down their computer systems and, as a result, even closed the company’s offices. An Iran-linked digital activist collective known as Handala is claiming credit for the cyberattack against Stryker. This would be the first major cyberattack carried out in the wake of the ...

  • Russian hackers target HR departments with vicious new ‘BlackSanta’ malware

    March 11, 2026

    Russian hackers have been targeting Human Resources (HR) departments at various organizations around the world with a never-before seen piece of malware called BlackSanta. The campaign was spotted by cybersecurity researchers Aryaka, who said the attacks have been going on for at least a year, and include a rather sophisticated infection chain. It most likely starts ...