AI’s capacity for efficiency is undeniable but embracing this led us here at Mondas to ponder, how are cybercriminals benefiting from all the time-saving benefits of AI and how do we keep our clients ahead of that trend?
Adversaries are often quick to adopt and weaponise new tech and AI is potentially a very strong tool to process vast amounts of data, detect patterns, and automate tasks.
Where do hackers benefit from using AI?
We take a look at some of the ways hackers benefit from AI, by no means an exhaustive list but some of the core, more details under the table.
| Attack Vector | How AI Enhances It |
| Reconnaissance & Scanning | Automates network mapping and vulnerability discovery, rapidly finding entry points. |
| Phishing & Social Engineering | Creates hyper-realistic emails, deepfake audio/video, making lures harder to detect. |
| Malware Generation | Develops polymorphic malware that mutates to evade signature-based detection. |
| Credential Attacks | Analyses password patterns to accelerate brute-force and credential stuffing attacks. |
Automated Reconnaissance and Vulnerability Scanning
AI-powered tools can now automate the mapping of networks, pinpointing exposed services, misconfigurations, and known vulnerabilities with remarkable speed and accuracy. This significantly reduces the time an attacker needs to find an entry point.
Sophisticated Phishing and Social Engineering
AI excels at generating highly convincing text and imagery. This capability is being exploited to create hyper-realistic phishing emails, deepfake audio, and even video tailored to specific individuals or organisations. These AI-crafted lures are far more difficult to detect, improving a hacker’s success rate and reducing the effort required for initial compromise.
Malware Generation and Evasion
Adversaries are leveraging AI to develop polymorphic malware that can constantly mutate its code, making it harder for traditional signature-based detection systems to identify. AI can also be used to test malware against various defence mechanisms, refining its evasion techniques before deployment.
Accelerated Brute-Force and Credential Stuffing
While not new techniques, AI significantly enhances their efficacy. Machine learning algorithms can analyse compromised credential databases to identify common password patterns, user behaviours, and even predict potential passwords, accelerating brute-force attacks and improving the success rate of credential stuffing.
How to stay ahead of hackers using AI
The good news is that AI is our most potent weapon in the fight against cybercrime. At Mondas, our cybersecurity team is harnessing AI and machine learning to build more resilient, proactive, and intelligent defence systems. Summary table below and more details under that.
| Defense Mechanism | How AI can assist |
| Predictive Threat Intelligence | Analyses global data to identify emerging trends and predict future attacks. |
| Real-Time Anomaly Detection | Establishes a baseline of normal behavior and flags deviations to spot attackers. |
| Automated Incident Response | Automates initial actions (e.g., isolating endpoints) to limit damage. |
| Advanced Endpoint Protection | Uses behavioral analytics (TTPs) to detect and stop sophisticated attacks in real-time. |
Predictive Threat Intelligence
AI can analyse global threat data, identify emerging attack trends, and predict potential future threats. This allows us to implement preventative measures before specific attacks even materialise, turning the tables on adversaries.
Real-Time Anomaly Detection
Machine learning algorithms can establish a baseline of normal network and user behaviour. Any deviation from this baseline can be set to trigger an alert, indicating a potential compromise. This significantly reduces the dwell time of an attacker within a system.
Automated Incident Response
When an incident occurs, AI can automate initial response actions, such as isolating compromised endpoints, blocking malicious IP addresses, and patching vulnerabilities. This drastically cuts down response times, limiting the damage an attacker can inflict.
Advanced Endpoint Protection with CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform, for example, uses AI and machine learning to provide comprehensive endpoint protection, cloud security, and threat intelligence. Its behavioural analytics can detect and prevent sophisticated attacks that bypass traditional defences, often stopping breaches before they can even begin. By understanding the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of adversaries, even those using AI, 🔗CrowdStrike’s AI-powered solutions can identify malicious activity in real-time, providing an invaluable advantage to defenders.
The race between cyber defenders and adversaries is fundamentally a battle of innovation. As hackers increasingly adopt AI to amplify their capabilities and accelerate their attacks, it becomes imperative for our clients to invest in equally advanced, AI-driven cybersecurity solutions. By embracing the latest technologies and ensuring our defence mechanisms are always a step ahead, we can mitigate the hacker’s AI advantage and safeguard our digital future. Talk to us today about the importance of staying ahead of hackers who are taking advantage of AI tools.
This article was written by our Sales and Marketing Manager here at Mondas – George Eastman. George has experience in working with organisations on their overall cyber security protection and has deployed CrowdStrike tools with clients, 🔗learn more about George on LinkedIn.
Last Updated 18/11/2025.
