AI is industrialising cyberattacks, says EU cybersecurity agency - Euronews.com

The warning comes as Europe has been hit with numerous cyber incidents in recent months, raising widespread concern about how vulnerable society is to cyberattacks and how prepared the continent is to deal with future threats. "Security should not and cannot be an afterthought," Juhan Lepassaar, executive director of the EU's cybersecurity agency ENISA, told AFP.

Recent incidents range from the PHP vulnerability, which prompted numerous EU governments to take down their websites, to cyberattacks on fridges at supermarkets and blood banks in France and eight other countries resulting from vulnerabilities in outdated software.

AI accelerates cyber threats

Cyber threats are evolving and becoming more visible thanks in part to AI, creating a cyber arms race where organizations must keep pace with the latest artificial intelligence model advancements. ENISA calls AI a "force multiplier," expanding and accelerating the ability of both hackers and defenders to spot vulnerabilities more quickly.

"Data synthesised by researchers shows that the time between discovery and weaponisation is approaching zero," says the ENISA report, suggesting that soon companies may have no time at all to protect themselves from vulnerabilities once systems are launched.

AI tools allow attackers to carry out more convincing phishing operations using deepfake videos, audio and messages to trick people and "feed wrong data into systems to disrupt corporate operations."

Motivations behind attacks

The report found that 57.3% of cyber incidents in 2025 were ideologically driven by geopolitical events such as Russia's war against Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, although most had limited impact. Meanwhile, 29.3% were financially motivated, with ransomware remaining the most impactful incident type on businesses.

ENISA notes that attacks resembling those orchestrated by state actors have been seen targeting European countries to conduct cyberespionage campaigns, collect intelligence and steal intellectual property. Hacktivists dominate reporting in terms of attack volume, with most being low-impact distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) operations.

Europe's response challenges

The EU has implemented cyber rules including the NIS2 Directive, which obliges all economic sectors to protect critical infrastructure, but it hasn't been transposed into law in all member states. The recent fridge attack revealed gaps in how businesses determine what constitutes critical infrastructure.

Cybersecurity experts note that many businesses like supermarkets focus on financial cybersecurity while leaving connected infrastructure to maintenance teams with different priorities.

A significant challenge is the shortage of cybersecurity talent. The report cites a 2025 study finding that 45% of organizations faced difficulties finding professionals with requisite skills, potentially creating a gap that wealthier organizations could exploit.