IBM Xforce: Are Your Enterprise AI Tools Secure?
IBM XForce Threat Intelligence Report reveals that AI is not only accelerating cyber threats, but criminals are exploiting flaws in enterprises' AI tools
TL;DR
- AI is accelerating cyber threats and being weaponized by threat actors.
- AI-enabled tools allow attackers to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in public-facing applications at high speed.
- There was a 44% rise in attacks beginning with exploitation of basic vulnerabilities, often due to missing authentication controls.
- AI platforms are becoming viable targets for credential theft, with over 300,000 ChatGPT credentials exposed.
- Compromised AI credentials can lead to manipulated outputs, data exfiltration, and injection of malicious prompts.
- AI lowers barriers to entry for cybercrime, contributing to a 49% increase in active ransomware and extortion groups.
- AI is used to analyze large datasets and adapt attack paths dynamically.
- AI-generated assets make it harder to distinguish legitimate users from impersonation attempts.
- Supply chain and third-party compromises are significant risks for AI systems due to complex dependency chains.
- Vulnerability exploitation was the leading trigger for incidents in 2025, accounting for 40% of observed attacks.
- Core issues like credential hygiene and software configuration remain the primary causes of breaches.
- Manufacturing industries were the most targeted sector for the fifth consecutive year (28% of incidents).
- North America was the most attacked region overall.
- Organizations must reinforce basic security controls, embrace proactive threat hunting, and prioritize identity protection.