AI Is Making Cyberattacks More Dangerous. It's Also Becoming the Best Defence

The story of AI in cybersecurity is one of contrasts. As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, it's making cyberattacks faster, more affordable, more convincing, and harder to detect.

At the same time, it's helping organisations detect breaches earlier, respond faster, and reduce the damage when attacks succeed.

The 2026 IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report suggests both trends are accelerating. AI-driven attacks increased 56% over the past year, pushing the global average cost of a data breach to a record $4.99 million. Yet organisations using AI extensively across their security operations saved nearly $2 million per breach compared with those that didn't.

The result is an AI arms race. Attackers are becoming more efficient, but organisations adopting AI-powered cybersecurity are gaining a growing advantage over those that aren't.

MORE INSIGHTS ON THIS TOPIC:

• AI Scams and the New Trust Problem: Why Online Fraud Looks Real
• Why ICS Cyber Alerts Are Falling Even as Threats Get Harder to Detect
• The Reason Behind Surging Cyberattacks in Africa, LATAM

The cost of a data breach reached a record $4.99 million

The financial impact of cyberattacks continues to rise. IBM found that the global average cost of a data breach reached $4.99 million, up 12% from last year and the highest figure the report has recorded.