Google: "AI-Powered Cyberattacks Will Become the New Standard"

"2026 Cybersecurity Outlook Report" Released
"China and North Korea Expanding Hacking Operations Globally"

There are predictions that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in cyberattacks will become the new standard.

2026 Cybersecurity Outlook Report. Provided by Google Cloud

The Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) stated in its "2026 Cybersecurity Outlook Report" published on November 5 that "next year, attackers will go beyond simple text-based phishing attacks and actively utilize multimodal generative AI-including voice, text, and video deepfakes-to impersonate executives, employees, or partner companies and carry out convincing, context-specific attacks."

GTIG also warned that so-called "shadow agents," which are AI tools deployed within organizations without official approval, could cause critical issues. If employees deploy or use autonomous AI agents or tools without organizational authorization, there is a heightened risk that sensitive data may be leaked through uncontrolled channels.

GTIG projected that economic damage from cybercrimes such as ransomware and data theft will remain significant next year. The group also assessed that attackers are likely to target "hypervisors," the virtualization-based infrastructure within servers, during these attacks. Even a single breach could allow an attacker to seize control over all digital assets, making this a critical security blind spot.

The report also addressed countries that are actively fostering hacking organizations, such as Russia, North Korea, China, and Iran. GTIG stated, "Russia’s cyber operations are expected to undergo strategic changes, moving beyond short-term tactical support for the war in Ukraine to pursue long-term global strategic objectives." The group also predicted that the scale of China’s cyber operations will continue to surpass that of other countries next year.

Regarding North Korea, GTIG noted, "Cyber threat groups will expand highly efficient and profitable operations targeting cryptocurrency organizations and users to generate revenue," and added, "North Korea’s IT workforce is expected to broaden its global activities, particularly in Europe, to maintain sources of income."

Potential cybersecurity threats anticipated in the Asia-Pacific region include political espionage targeting diplomats and vehicle-mounted fake base station hacking.