How AI is enabling faster, more dangerous cyber warfare

Refrigerator hacks. $6.3 billion crypto heists . 14-country espionage campaigns carried out in just 11 days. All in the span of a week. Why it matters: State-backed hackers are finding new ways to launch cyberattacks at remarkable speed and scale, with AI and automation threatening to widen the gap between attackers and defenders. Driving the news: Hackers tampered with refrigeration system s at dozens of European grocery stores in one night earlier this week — raising temperatures and spoiling food in a sweeping attack some linked to Russia. "It's hard to imagine this is not the work of a nation state pretending to be a criminal actor," Cynthia Kaiser, former deputy director of the FBI's cyber division, told Axios. "Given the concentration around Europe, Russia is a reasonable first suspect." French blood banks were also affected in the attacks on European refrigeration systems, authorities said Wednesday. SentinelOne researchers reported Tuesday that Russian-aligned hackers have previously claimed attacks on European refrigeration systems. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has also been investigating a series of suspected hacks of refrigeration systems on its military bases over the summer. Nextgov reported that investigators suspect Iran was behind those attacks. Others have suggested potential Iran ties in Europe as well. The big picture: No clear evidence has yet linked the attack on food supply through smart refrigeration to AI or automation, but nation-state hackers have used those tools in other breaches to speed up their operations. Google researchers said Friday that multiple hacking groups have used automated security testing tools in recent attacks. One China-linked group gained deep access to a victim's network in as little as 15 minutes. North Korean hackers behind last week's record-setting Binance heist also likely used automation to move stolen cryptocurrency and cover their tracks, according to Chainalysis. Case in point: China-linked hackers used an AI-powe