Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the cybersecurity landscape and has emerged as the most significant driver of change in the sector, according to a new report published by the World Economic Forum. The report, titled AI and Cyber: Empowering Defenders, states that AI has become a core enabling technology in modern cybersecurity operations while simultaneously being used by attackers to increase the speed, scale, and sophistication of digital threats. This dual role has positioned AI at the center of both defensive and offensive cyber capabilities.
The report highlights that cybersecurity systems are increasingly integrating AI driven tools across the entire security lifecycle, including threat detection, incident prevention, response coordination, and recovery processes. These capabilities are enabling organizations to better secure digital infrastructure and protect sensitive data in an environment where cyber risks are expanding in complexity. According to the findings, 94 percent of cyber leaders identify artificial intelligence as a defining force in cybersecurity, while 77 percent of organizations have already incorporated AI into their cyber operations. These implementations are delivering measurable improvements in cost efficiency, response speed, and overall system resilience.
At the same time, threat actors are also leveraging AI technologies to automate deceptive practices, generate malicious software, and execute large scale attacks at machine speed. Despite these risks, the report indicates that organizations that strategically deploy AI in their cybersecurity frameworks are gaining significant operational advantages. Companies that extensively use AI in security functions have reported reductions in average breach costs of up to 1.9 million dollars, along with a decrease in breach lifecycle duration by approximately 80 days. These figures underscore the growing importance of AI as a critical component of modern cyber defense strategies.
Akshay Joshi, Head of the Centre for Cybersecurity at the World Economic Forum, stated that AI has the potential to shift the balance in favor of defenders. He emphasized that organizations treating AI as a strategic capability rather than a standalone tool are better positioned to convert increasing cyber risks into operational resilience and competitive advantage. The report builds on earlier findings from 2025 and focuses on real world applications of AI in cybersecurity, highlighting how enterprises are moving from conceptual adoption to practical deployment in defense systems.
The study also notes that as enterprise attack surfaces expand to include hundreds of thousands of internet facing assets, the scale and complexity of cyber risk continues to grow significantly. Laurent Gobbi, Partner and Global Head of Cyber and Tech Risk at KPMG, noted that attackers are operating at unprecedented speed and scale, urging organizations to match this pace by using AI as a force multiplier for cyber defense. The report stresses that the effectiveness of AI in cybersecurity depends on clear deployment strategies, tested use cases prior to scaling, and strong governance frameworks supported by human oversight. Drawing on 20 real world case studies and insights from 105 representatives across 84 organizations and 15 industries, the findings call on business and government leaders to invest not only in technology but also in skills, processes, and governance structures required to defend digital systems at machine speed.
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