Artificial intelligence has changed the dynamics of cybersecurity, as this emerging technology plays a paradoxical role by empowering threat actors to find vulnerabilities and equipping organizations to level-up their defense against such attacks.
A latest whitepaper by World Economic Forum (WEF) and KPMG titled “Empowering Defenders: AI For Cybersecurity 2026” discusses how advanced AI driven tools are being used by organizations to secure their digital assets and sensitive information against malicious actors who use AI as a force multiplier to find vulnerabilities in software systems that would have normally taken a weeks to discover manually.
“When (AI) deployed effectively, 88% of security teams report time saving and greater opportunity for proactive defence…shortened breach times by approximately 80 days and reduced average breach costs by $1.9 million,” read an excerpt from the report.
AI is reshaping cybersecurity – but realizing its value takes more than adoption.
This new @wef report, developed with @kpmg, explores how organizations can scale AI responsibly – with the right strategy, governance and human oversight.
Based on insights from 84+ organizations… pic.twitter.com/35FzV3NHuC
— World Economic Forum (@wef) May 4, 2026
The WEF &KPMG whitepaper takes into account 20 case study reports of AI tools deployed for AI-driven cyber governance, AI-enabled risk identification, AI-augmented cyber protection, AI-powered threat detection, AI-orchestrated incident response and AI-supported incident recovery. The whitepaper discusses how AI helps “address the structural challenges faced by cybersecurity, including the rising volume and sophistication of attacks, persistent talent shortages and increasing system complexity.”
The study reports were submitted by organizations like Google, KPMG, Microsoft, IBM, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, Dubai Electronic Security Centre (DESC), AXIS Capital, Rubrik, Accenture and KPMG.
The whitepaper also acknowledges the increasing use of AI by malicious actors to orchestrate sophisticated cyberattacks.
“Adversaries are increasingly operating at machine speed, using AI to conduct reconnaissance of targets and vulnerabilities, generate malware, exploit code, evade detection and launch attacks at scale. What once required weeks of effort can now be executed in minutes, lowering technical barriers and dramatically expanding both the volume and impact of cyberattacks,” read the report.
The whitepaper argues that use of AI in strengthening cyber security for organizations has become imminent in the face of rising threats from malicious actors.
“Attackers need only find one entry point while defenders must defend everything. With AI, attackers can identify vulnerabilities faster. Defenders, however, can use AI to analyze and prioritize risks using internal proprietary data for contextual precision that attackers lack, thereby regaining strategic advantage,” read the report.
The report also discusses how agentic AI are being used by organizations for real-time monitoring and threat detection before they fully materialize. A case study by Cybervergent where an AI agent was used to detect intellectual property theft was also mentioned.
The whitepaper suggests ways businesses and organizations can deploy AI agents/systems to enhance their cybersecurity while advising against giving full autonomy to the emerging technology.
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