AI is helping defenders more than attackers

Cyber criminals now use AI to improvise their phishing attempts—by eliminating spelling and grammar errors and crafting more believable emails.

- UMA KANNAN @ Bengaluru

Steve Ledzian, CTO, Google Cloud Security, JAPAC at Mandiant says security is always an arms race, with new defensive capabilities leading to new offensive ones. "But as of now, AI is helping defenders more than attackers," he said in an interaction with TNIE.

Ledzian, who was in Bengaluru recently, said ransomware, in particular, can impact critical services. "Take healthcare—if hospitals are hit, ambulance services might have to divert, affecting patient safety. Or energy—like the ransomware attack on the US East Coast pipeline. These are not just financial issues; they affect society and national infrastructure. That's why countries now equate these attacks to acts of war," he said.