Cybersecurity Leaders Warn AI Gives Hackers Decisive Advantage

Cybersecurity executives gathered Wednesday at the New York Stock Exchange for the Cyber 60 event, where they warned that artificial intelligence has granted hackers a decisive advantage over defenders. Evan Peña, cofounder and chief offensive security officer at Armadin, stated that attackers are currently winning because AI enables them to scan the external attack surfaces of Fortune 500 companies in hours, a process that previously required a year of human effort.

Nick Schneider, CEO of Arctic Wolf, described a systemic imbalance in the digital landscape. He argued that while legitimate organizations are hindered by budgets and change control processes, AI-native attackers operate without barriers at an unparalleled scale and speed. Lior Div, cofounder and CEO of 7AI, added that the traditional concept of an impenetrable security perimeter is no longer valid, characterizing the current global digital environment as highly vulnerable.

The event coincided with the release of Fortune's 2027 Cyber 60 list, which recognizes innovative startups such as Chainguard, Irregular, and Jazz for their contributions to the field.