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AI Will Keep Hackers Hacking. For Defenders, the AI Future Is Unclear

By James Rundle

 

Good day. As the RSAC Conference closes, geopolitics and AI dominated panel discussions, side conversations and huddles in San Francisco's Moscone Center and beyond.

Workforce in the AI age has been a constant, troubling theme.

Hackers, at least, may find their jobs safe for a while.

“ It seems like there's a big disconnect about what large language models actually do right now. They're perfect for structuring the attacks, making things undetectable, research, reconnaissance... but I don't think agents themselves are going to become ransomware actors,” said Jon Miller, CEO of cyber company Halcyon.

How AI will affect the future defensive workforce is worrisome. Entry-level jobs are being automated out of existence. While companies say this frees up existing staff to focus on more effective work, there are questions about where the next generation of workers will cut their teeth.

“ I'm totally cognizant that finding a job or breaking into the whole scene here is harder to do now,” said John Hammond, principal security researcher at Huntress, who operates a popular YouTube channel that often focuses on helping people get into cybersecurity.

Might be worth watching attendance levels at RSAC 2027 onward to see how much of an effect AI is having.

More news below.

 

‏‏‎ ‎

CONTENT FROM: ZSCALER
Enterprise AI Use Rose 83% YoY: Can Security Keep Pace?

Enterprise AI is becoming always-on infrastructure, moving sensitive data at a speed that’s reshaping productivity and risk. Get the latest insights on balancing rapid adoption with AI security, the top threats to watch and what teams can do next in the ThreatLabz 2026 AI Security Report.

Read the report

 

More Cyber News

ILLUSTRATION: JON KRAUSE FOR WSJ

Retirees are more vulnerable to cyber scams but not for the reasons you think. It’s more complicated than frailty and digital illiteracy. Read more from WSJ.

Business interruption is the top driver of cyber insurance claims, according to new research from insurer Munich Re, which analyzed its 2025 customer claims. Privacy liability and incident response round out the top three drivers.

Japanese brewer Asahi Group delayed reporting first-quarter earnings, citing a September cyberattack that disrupted accounting, manufacturing and other systems. Asahi didn't say when it would be able to report. The company is still assessing the financial impact of the attack. (Globe and Mail)

Enforcement: A Russian hacker was sentenced to 81 months in prison for breaking into U.S. corporate computer networks and selling that access to ransomware groups, which attacked and demanded tens of millions of dollars from American companies and organizations, the Justice Department said. (Dow Jones Risk Journal)

  • Aleksei Volkov, 26, of St. Petersburg, was sentenced in the Southern District of Indiana after pleading guilty to charges from two federal indictments. He was arrested in Rome and extradited to the U.S.
 

RSAC Reporter's Notebook

PHOTO: RSAC

“It seems that we will reach a stage where there will be no need for humans to detect, and AI will detect and respond with enormous speed. This traditional approach that humans should verify everything… probably, we are not fast enough to do it.” —Edvardas Šileris, head of the European Cybercrime Centre at Europol, on the impact of AI on defense.

PHOTO: WIN MCNAMEE

/GETTY IMAGES

“ So in 2008, on October 20, the [National Security Agency] detected some Secretary of Defense documents on a foreign network, and I reasoned that they probably shouldn't be there. We tried to get into the Secretary's network, but they said, ‘No, this is ours.’ Four days later, they allowed our team, five guys, to go in. They found 1,500 pieces of Russian malware on a classified network. I said, ‘That can't be good.’” —Retired Army Gen. Keith Alexander, on the origins of the U.S. Cyber Command.

“ If we need it, I think we'll be able to develop it.” —Despina Spanou, deputy director general for networks and technology, cybersecurity coordination at the European Commission, on the EU’s offensive cyber capabilities.

 
Alt text.

▶️ Rubrik CEO on Balancing AI Growth and Cybersecurity

Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha discusses the recent software selloff, enterprise AI strategy, and defense against rising cyber threats amid geopolitical volatility.

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About Us

The WSJ Pro Cybersecurity team is Deputy Bureau Chief Kim S. Nash and reporters Angus Loten and James Rundle. Follow us on X @WSJCyber. Reach the team by replying to any newsletter you receive or by emailing Kim at kim.nash@wsj.com.

 
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