ReliaQuest’s 2026 Annual Threat Report: AI Powers Faster, Smarter Attacks

ReliaQuest’s 2026 Annual Threat Report reveals that 2025 saw an unparalleled escalation in AI- and automation-facilitated cyberattacks. Incident data from 2024 was compared to 2025, and ReliaQuest found that threat actors are now faster than ever. To remain ahead of the curve, security practitioners will need to adopt AI in their own defense or be left behind.

AI Increased Attack Speeds Dramatically

In 2025, AI not only increased attack speeds, but it also did so much more efficiently and intelligently. Malefactors were able to automate and deploy AI to create sophisticated phishing attacks at a scale previously unattainable. 

This resulted in achieving lateral movement within as few as four minutes (an 85% increase from 2024).

“In 2025, cybercriminal success was defined by speed, and breakout time is the clearest measure of how little time defenders have. Attackers averaged a 34-minute breakout time, and, in the fastest case, reached lateral ...