AI making cyberattacks happen faster, giving less time to respond
What's the story
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the cybersecurity landscape, a recent report by J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management has revealed. The research highlights that AI is enabling faster discovery and exploitation of software vulnerabilities, leaving organizations with little time to respond to potential cyber threats. The gap between vulnerability disclosure and exploitation has narrowed significantly, now averaging just one day (a zero-day event).
Dual impact
AI's dual role in cybersecurity
The report notes that while AI models like Anthropic's Mythos and OpenAI's GPT 5.5 are greatly enhancing the detection of unknown software vulnerabilities, they can also be misused by threat actors.
These include ransomware operators, terrorists, and hacktivists.
The research further highlights that organizations are already lagging in responding to these emerging threats, with around 60% of breaches occurring even when a patch was available at the time of compromise.
Rising threats
Global increase in cyberattacks and talent shortfall
The report also notes a global surge in cyberattacks by 18% in 2025, with some 75,000 attacks occurring every hour. Phishing continues to be the most common attack vector.
Compounding these challenges is a global shortfall of nearly 4.8 million cybersecurity professionals, further straining organizations' capacity to fend off attacks.
Evolving risks
Attackers leveraging AI for rapid exploits
The report highlights that AI models can now detect thousands of unknown vulnerabilities at scale, fundamentally changing cyber risk.
It cites research showing over 10,000 new high and critical-severity zero-day vulnerabilities were detected in the first month of advanced AI systems testing, many missing from public vulnerability databases.
Attackers can now reverse-engineer software patches within minutes using AI and quickly develop working exploits.
Defense enhancement
AI can also bolster defenses
The report also emphasizes that AI can be used to bolster cyber defenses.
"The same tools that are used to detect and exploit vulnerabilities can also be used to propose code fixes and remediate them," it says, referring to new security-focused AI tools being developed by Anthropic and OpenAI.
This highlights a dual role for AI in cybersecurity, both as a potential threat and a powerful defense mechanism.
Urgent action
Urgent need for rapid remediation
The report concludes by stressing that businesses need to prioritize rapid software updates and patch deployment.
It warns that companies must increasingly measure themselves on the speed of remediation rather than accuracy alone as a "tsunami of patches" looms.
This highlights the urgent need for organizations to adapt their cybersecurity strategies in response to the evolving threat landscape shaped by AI advancements.