AI vs. Hackers: The Silent War That Could Define Your Future

Your Cybersecurity Career Might Just Depend on the Answer

The battle between AI and hackers isn’t just a great fight of code. It’s a struggle that is both dynamic and turbulent, whereby every advancement in defensive means is met with an equally creative and productive offense.

If you’re thinking about entering a cybersecurity career, here’s what you are getting into – a war where both sides have access to AI.

We touched on this larger convergence in principle in our pillar blog,

The Future of Cybersecurity: AI, Quantum Threats & Digital Deception.

 But today, we need to address a narrower—and more direct—question: Has AI improved the probability of victory for defenders and weakened the probability of victory for hackers?

Let’s answer that question by exploring facts and examples.

AI: The Newest Tool in Cyber Defense

First, the positive side.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is defined as computer systems that perform tasks previously considered uniquely human, such as decision-making, pattern recognition, and predictive analysis. 

Cybersecurity teams are leveraging AI to automate processes such as data analysis, sifting through massive amounts of data, identifying deviations from baselines, and responding to potential intrusion behaviours almost in real-time.

TechTarget reports that more than 70% of larger organisations plan to adopt and invest in AI-driven security tools by 2027 – not just an upgrade, a complete overhaul.

Real Example: AI Stopping Ransomware

In 2023, Darktrace, a leading artificial intelligence cybersecurity firm, successfully eliminated a ransomware attack on a U.S. hospital chain.

Their AI system detected suspicious lateral movement and encryption file activity, two indicators of a cyberattack, and autonomously blocked the traffic in seconds. 

The impact was so immediate that Darktrace and the human security team were informed of the compromise after the threat had been contained.

This level of immediacy and precision is not possible for humans in any situation. AI identifies patterns, correlations, and other subtle signals hidden in millions of data points.

AI doesn’t sleep, go into panic mode, or get fooled by a typo in a phishing email.

It’s a double-edged sword: Hackers have AI too

Before we start celebrating, here comes the bad news.

Hackers are leveraging AI just as effectively, if not more creatively. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) has identified emerging threats with AI-assisted phishing emails, synthetic identity fraud, and deepfake manipulation (source: enisa.europa.eu).

Example from Reality: $25 Million Deepfake Heist

In early 2024, a multinational company’s Hong Kong office transferred $25 million after a finance executive received a video conference from someone claiming to be their “CFO” — it wasn’t the CFO. It was a real-time AI deepfake that looked identical in voice, mannerisms, and was called from a background that looked exactly the same.

Employees followed standard protocol. Within minutes, the money was gone (source: paloaltonetworks.com).

This is how believable AI has become. And it’s worth remembering that the hacker did not need highly ranked access; just a few publicly available and open-source videos, along with open-source tools.

AI in Cybersecurity: a double-edged sword

What we are seeing is an accelerating spiral. AI is both the best shield and the sharpest sword, depending on whose hands wield that sword.

Here’s what the world looks like:

As ENISA notes, the duality of AI is now at the forefront of cybersecurity. Not only do defenders need to protect their own AI-assisted systems from being hijacked or manipulated, but they also need to predict what attackers will do with the same tools (source: enisa.europa.eu).

So… Who is Winning?

It’s tricky.

If we are measuring speed, AI gives defenders the advantage. An AI-assisted system can scan for, identify, and block threats faster than any human analyst.

But if we are measuring creativity and unpredictable decision-making, hackers are still playing the long game — taking advantage of fallibility in systems, fallibility in people, and even fallibility in the AI algorithm itself.

This tug of war defines the future of cybersecurity — a topic we explore more deeply in our pillar post on AI, Quantum Threats & Digital Deception.

This friction drives the future of cybersecurity — and this is precisely why cybersecurity is growing faster than ever.

And why should this matter to your future career in cybersecurity?

Let’s bring this back to you: if you have any plans for a career in cybersecurity, this is not about “will AI replace me?” It’s about AI deciding more than it ever has for you.

Here’s how roles are changing:

• Threat Analysts will need to have a familiarity with how AI models respond and how to act on alerts from AI decisions in real-time.
• Ethical Hackers will be required to test their defences against both human and machine attacks.
• Security Architects will now be expected to design layered, resilient systems using AI tools without introducing other vulnerabilities.
• Incident Responders are now expected to respond to AI decisions in seconds, not hours.

In short, AI is your co-pilot. But you are still in control of the plane.

The Skillset of the Future

Contemporary cybersecurity careers require a combination of technical abilities, an understanding of artificial intelligence, and a critical thinking process. Here at MAGES Institute, we design our programs to teach you how to utilize a hybrid and future-based skillset, backed by core knowledge and relevant use cases.

• Learn how to protect systems from threats that are leveraging artificial intelligence.
• Become familiar with using tooling such as threat intelligence platforms and behavioral analytics.
• Refine your strategic thinking to outmaneuver intelligent adversaries.

If you want to be able to relate this to tooling and workflows, have a look at our blog article, Top Tools You’ll Use in a Cybersecurity Career, which also describes the tech where you will need to build up your expertise.

Final Thought: The War is Not Over, It is Just Changing

We are uncertain if AI will beat hackers or vice versa. Ultimately, we appreciate that the arms race is more of a marathon, rather than a sprint, or long waiting game. What truly matters is how well we, as humans, can adapt.

Cybersecurity has moved beyond a desk job. It is now a career along the very edge of strategy, technology, and survival.

If you are ready to face this challenge, AI can be your friend — but only if you know how to use it.