Major tech companies call for defensive surge to defeat AI-driven hacks

More than 100 firms urged action to secure the digital world before AI-driven threats accelerate Reuters August 27, 2026 1 min read The OpenAI logo in this illustration taken June 11, 2026. REUTERS Major tech companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft , Alphabet , and Amazon are calling for a ​society-wide defensive surge to defeat what they describe ‌as an impending wave of hacks driven by artificial intelligence. In a joint letter issued Thursday, the companies -- along with more ​than 100 others including Broadcom , Capital One , Cloudflare , ​CrowdStrike , General Motors , IBM , Mastercard , Oracle , Robinhood , Shopify , ⁠and Visa -- said there was a limited amount of ​time "to make our digital world much more secure" ahead ​of the AI onslaught. "In the coming months, AI-enabled cyberattacks will become far more widespread as models around the world become increasingly capable," ​the letter said. It called on government and ​industry leaders "to bring the full weight of their technology, resources, and ‌expertise ⁠to this effort." Read More: US says Chinese hackers broke into Justice Department, NASA, Federal Reserve, Senate and more It called on governments to expedite trusted access programs, which give certain companies access to more powerful models ahead of the general public, and for all ​other organizations ​to "make cyber defense ⁠an immediate leadership priority." Fears that advances in AI will supercharge hacking campaigns are beginning ​to be realized as rogue elements increasingly deploy ​large ⁠language models to break into organizations around the world. In June, the world's "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance -- composed of the ⁠US, ​Britain, Canada, Australia, and New ​Zealand -- issued a rare joint statement warning that the AI revolution was poised ​to "fundamentally transform" cybersecurity.