AI Poised to Outrun Cyber Defenders, Congress Hears

Experts Say AI Is Already Enabling Faster and Harder-to-Detect Attack Campaigns Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) • December 17, 2025

Network defenders are struggling to keep pace as new technologies are poised to give foreign adversaries and criminal hacking groups new advantages.

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Artificial intelligence, quantum computing and cybersecurity leaders told the House Homeland Security Committee’s cyber and oversight subcommittees Wednesday that AI-enabled automation and advanced emerging tech capabilities are becoming persistent forces reshaping the threat landscape.

Legacy systems, outdated defenses and slow-moving security processes are being exposed to a new generation of attack vectors. Royal Hansen, Google's vice president of privacy, safety and security engineering, said adversaries are already experimenting with AI-driven malware that can dynamically alter its behavior during execution, marking a shift toward more autonomous and adaptive attacks that are harder to detect and contain.

Google ...