Dark Reading

Offensive Security Investments Surge as AI Threats Increase

Refract AI Intelligence Digest

BLUF

Rising AI-driven offensive security investments bring both efficiency gains and significant operational risks.

NEWS

Omdia analyst Theresa Lanowitz discusses the surge in funding for AI-powered penetration testing and red teaming with Dark Reading. The conversation highlights the dual-edged nature of agentic AI, which can automate attacks but also introduces new vulnerabilities and control challenges.

Why I Care

Security leaders must balance automation benefits against the risk of uncontrolled AI agents causing collateral damage or being weaponized by adversaries. This shift affects budget allocation, tool selection, and risk management strategies across all enterprises.

Next Steps

CISOs should audit current offensive security tools for AI capabilities and establish strict governance policies for agentic AI usage by Q4 2026 to mitigate unintended consequences.

Omdia's Theresa Lanowitz talks with the Dark Reading News Desk about the potential — and risks — of using agentic AI for penetration testing, red teaming, and other practices.
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Source: Dark Reading ·

This digest was generated by Refract AI Collective to help the public sector security community stay informed.