AI is accelerating a global cybersecurity crisis, Check Point CTO warns at TAU Cyber Week

Check Point's chief technology officer, Jonathan Zanger, warns of a cybersecurity crisis accelerated by artificial intelligence. The aging software infrastructure is a primary target for hackers. PHP-to-shell vulnerabilities, affecting 70% of websites, are particularly severe. These vulnerabilities enable unauthenticated remote control execution, allowing attackers to take complete control of the system.

The integration of AI into cyberattacks has shortened the window between vulnerability disclosure and exploitation from three to four months to just days. Traditional patching cycles are no longer sufficient, as machines can respond faster than humans. Zanger emphasizes the importance of focusing on prevention rather than detection and response.

AI has evolved from assisting in phishing emails to autonomously carrying out attacks. By 2025, AI software may operate independently across the internet using protocols like the Model Context Protocol (MCP). A notable example is Vapor Panda, a Chinese state-sponsored threat actor that targeted over 200 organizations using open-source infrastructure.

Despite AI's advancements, human behavior remains a vulnerability that cannot be fixed with software patches. Attackers increasingly target this weakness through social engineering campaigns. The use of ClickFix techniques has surged by 500%, with attackers impersonating IT administrators to manipulate employees into compromising systems.

Major breaches, like the Binance hack, often start with social engineering tactics rather than technical attacks, followed by AI-assisted lateral movement within the network. To counter these threats, companies must combine traditional cybersecurity defenses with employee security awareness training.