Google Reports Surge in AI Use Among Cybercriminals

Cybercriminals increasingly use AI to exploit vulnerabilities and expand operations.

Malicious actors are leveraging artificial intelligence to exploit vulnerabilities, expand the scale of operations, and gain initial access to targeted systems or networks, according to a report by the Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG).

The GTIG division first identified a hacker who used a zero-day exploit developed with AI. The hacker intended to deploy it for a large-scale attack, but corporate experts managed to thwart the threat.

North Korea-linked hackers have also shown significant interest in using AI to find vulnerabilities.

Programming with neural networks has accelerated the development of infrastructure toolkits and polymorphic malware. This technology facilitates bypassing security systems and allows for the integration of deceptive logic. GTIG associates such developments with Russia.

Artificial intelligence aids in autonomous operations. Analysts highlighted that malware like PROMPTSPY “indicates a shift towards independent orchestration of attacks.” Models interpret the system state to dynamically generate commands and manipulate the victim’s environment.

“This approach allows malicious actors to offload operational tasks to AI for scalable and adaptive activity,” the report states.

Hackers continue to use AI as a high-speed research assistant to support the attack lifecycle. Simultaneously, they are shifting towards agent-based workflows for automation.

Malicious actors seek anonymous access to premium-level models to unlawfully bypass limits. Such infrastructure enables mass abuse of services.

GTIG noted that hackers like TeamPCP (also known as UNC6780) have begun using AI environments and software dependencies to gain initial access to victims’ infrastructure.

Google’s cyber division experts emphasized that they are taking proactive measures to stay ahead of ever-evolving threats.

Back in September 2025, the threat analysis team of the startup Anthropic discovered and disrupted the first-of-its-kind AI-driven cyber-espionage campaign.