AI poised to outrun cyber defenders, Congress hears

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

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Legacy systems, outdated defenses and slow-moving security processes are being exposed to a new generation of attack vectors.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.

Read more at Gov Info Security