As businesses rush to adopt artificial intelligence tools for efficiency, they are discovering that the very systems meant to strengthen operations are also reshaping the threat landscape. Criminals are exploiting the speed, scale and persuasive power of AI to refine old attacks and quietly infiltrate organisations already dependent on automated decision-making.
A New Phase of Familiar Attacks
For years, cybersecurity experts warned that artificial intelligence would one day enable futuristic, near-cinematic cyberattacks. The reality unfolding inside businesses today is less dramatic but far more pervasive. Rather than unleashing powerful autonomous systems to break into networks, hackers are using AI to refine longstanding methods such as phishing, social engineering and data manipulation.
Across industries, attackers are deploying AI tools to craft highly convincing emails, impersonate trusted colleagues, and extract sensitive information in seconds. Security teams say these small but potent advances are eroding traditional lines of defence. Even as organisations deploy their own AI-driven tools to detect anomalies, they are finding that the same technology is fueling an escalating contest between attackers and defenders an emerging “AI arms race,” as some analysts describe it.
Exposure Inside Existing Systems
One of the most significant risks has emerged not from new technologies but from the AI already embedded within workplaces. If attackers gain access to a model that employees rely on daily particularly one trained on internal data they could gradually introduce false or misleading information. Security researchers warn that such tampering could influence decisions, alter financial processes or quietly prompt employees to disclose classified data.
This threat is often overlooked in organisations where AI tools were adopted quickly, without clear usage policies. In many cases, employees may unknowingly upload protected documents or confidential spreadsheets into public or unvetted models, creating new entry points for threat actors. As one consultant put it, companies are learning that-
“AI security begins long before an attack occurs often with the question of what staff choose to share with a model.”
The Policy Gap Inside Organisations
As AI becomes entwined with daily workflows, businesses are being forced to articulate rules that were previously assumed rather than explicitly managed. Many lack guidelines on the types of documents that should never be processed through AI tools, or controls that specify which models employees are permitted to use. The absence of such frameworks, experts say, allows accidental exposure to unfold quietly.
At the same time, responsibility for safeguarding AI systems is expanding beyond the traditional domain of IT teams. Business leaders now face decisions about how data is classified, which systems require encryption, and which employees should be granted access to AI-powered tools. The shift reflects a growing recognition that AI does not merely support business operations it increasingly shapes them, introducing risks that are organisational as well as technical.
Everyday Tools, Industrial-Scale Threats
While deepfakes and other advanced manipulations have captured public imagination, most AI-enabled attacks today are far more pragmatic. Generative tools are cleaning up grammar and style in phishing emails, helping criminals mimic vendors, recruiters or executives with uncanny precision. Other systems are scanning leaked datasets on the dark web, extracting valuable information in seconds work that previously required teams of people and hours of manual effort.
Meanwhile, legitimate enterprises are adopting AI at unprecedented speed to streamline workflows and reduce costs. But with efficiency gains has come a new dependency that many have yet to fully examine. As organisations automate processes and centralise decision-making in AI systems, they are inadvertently building structures that if compromised could be misused at scale by attackers.
A recent Global Cybersecurity Outlook report from the World Economic Forum found that two-thirds of businesses now view AI and machine learning as their most significant cybersecurity vulnerability heading into 2025. As both criminals and defenders lean more heavily on AI, the risks are becoming less visible and more intertwined with everyday operations.
