Google Warns of AI-Led Cyber Threats, Brings Quantum Encryption-Breaking Timeline Forward to 2029

Google’s threat intelligence unit said generative AI is lowering the barrier to cyberattacks and accelerating vulnerability reconnaissance, malware development and the spread of attacks. If autonomous AI systems can select targets and carry out tasks independently, corporate defenses may struggle to keep pace, increasing risks to financial institutions, governments and critical infrastructure.

Google’s latest warning said autonomous AI cyberattacks could emerge in the near term. It also brought forward its estimate for when quantum computers could become powerful enough to break current encryption, from 2036 to 2029. With only about three years left to prepare, the team has launched defensive AI agent tools to help organizations detect and respond to threats more quickly.