Ethical hacking professionals are working faster and smarter, as attackers exploit the same tools to scale deception, automate attacks, and expand the gap between defenders bound by rules and adversaries not anchored by any restrictions.
For years, the AI narrative was mostly linked to its role as a potential job killer, especially in fields that rely heavily on human expertise, such as cybersecurity and hacking.
New findings revealed that instead of replacing professionals, AI is the new force multiplier, where ethical hacking and hackers, on both sides, move faster with fewer constraints.
Force Multiplier for Ethical Hackers
According to Bugcrowd’s Inside the Mind of a Hacker, more than 80% of ethical hackers now use AI in their work, marking a 64% increase since 2023.
Based on responses from over 2,000 participants, the study shows that AI is being woven into daily cybersecurity operations, particularly through AI hacking tools that automate repetitive tasks and accelerate analysis.
It’s the kind of work an ethical hacker may spend hours on, now completed far more efficiently through hacking with AI. As a result, a professional, possibly one trained as a certified ethical hacker is free to focus on complex threats that require creativity, context, and judgment. This shift underscores how ethical hacking is evolving rather than disappearing.
Tasks, such as examining sprawling JavaScript files or tracing intricate application logic, are increasingly supported by AI hacking systems capable of identifying anomalies at scale. These advances align closely with emerging AI ethical hacking, reducing fatigue while improving precision across massive datasets.
AI is also helping uncover vulnerabilities that might otherwise remain hidden by learning from past attack patterns and applying advanced hacking AI methods. AI-driven tools can surface weaknesses that human intuition alone may miss. Far from sidelining the ethical hacker, this approach strengthens modern ethical hacking practices and raises the bar for defenders, including every certified ethical hacker in the field.
Moving Faster with Fewer Limits
Malicious hackers are advancing even faster through AI hacking all while defenders are still refining their tools. Ethical hacker and SocialProof Security CEO, Rachel Tobac, warned Axios that attackers are poised to outpace defenders in AI deployment.
“I do think, sadly, that 2026 will bring more, newer attacker successes faster than it will bring defender successes using AI,” Tobac said, cautioning that the risks extend beyond corporate breaches.
“Ordinary people will increasingly need to stay on guard for scammers impersonating them or their loved ones,” she warned, pointing to techniques reminiscent of the mass effect AI hacking achievement where scale and automation amplify impact with minimal effort.
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