06/08/2026

AI Is Changing How Cyber Attacks Happen—and Your Smartphone Is the Big Target

INC.com

Artificial intelligence is making cyberattacks even more dangerous, according to a new report published by Anthropic. The AI company analyzed 832 AI-enabled cyberthreat cases from March 2025 to March 2026. In 67 percent of those, the hackers used AI for attack preparation.

Attack preparation can come in many forms, such as writing malware and disrupting system performance. “Malicious actors are using AI in ways that make them more dangerous. More specifically, threat actors are using AI in the later, more complex stages of their cyber operations,” Anthropic said in its report.

According to the company, 6.5 percent of threat actors used AI to assist with “lateral movement,” which involves navigating deep inside a compromised network. In Anthropic’s study, researchers found signs that AI may be helping make attacks more dangerous. In the first six months of the research, 33 percent of attackers were rated at a medium risk or higher. Over the next six months, that number rose to 56 percent, approximately a 70 percent increase.