Google warns of AI-targeted cyber threats

Generative AI is transforming both enterprise operations and cybersecurity, emerging as a high-value target while simultaneously being exploited by attackers to accelerate and scale operations, Fast Company reports.

Google Cloud's AI Threat Tracker report highlights a surge in model extraction, or "distillation," attacks, where adversaries probe proprietary AI systems with repeated prompts to replicate capabilities without breaching networks. John Hultquist of Google Threat Intelligence notes that state-backed and financially motivated actors from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia are leveraging AI across the attack lifecycle, from reconnaissance to social engineering, producing multi-step campaigns with limited human oversight.

AI enables speed, scale, and sophistication that outpace traditional defenses, making human-centric playbooks insufficient. Hultquist warns that "security is about risk management, which means human judgment will have to be involved at some level," but without adopting AI-based defensive solutions, organizations risk falling behind. The report signals a shift toward a machine-versus-machine era, where protecting AI systems and integrating defensive AI into security strategies are now essential for resilience.