Google Disrupts Hackers Using AI to Exploit an Unknown Weakness in a Company's Digital Defense

May 11, 2026 (AP) – Google said Monday that it had disrupted a criminal group's attempt to use artificial intelligence to exploit another company's previously unknown digital vulnerability, adding to heightened worries across government and private industry about AI's risks for cybersecurity.

Google shared limited information about the attackers and the target, but John Hultquist, chief analyst at the tech giant’s threat intelligence arm, said it represents a moment cybersecurity experts have warned about for years: malicious hackers arming themselves with AI to supercharge their ability to break into the world’s computers.

“It’s here,” Hultquist said. “The era of AI-driven vulnerability and exploitation is already here.”