There has been a sharp increase in the perceived value of AI technologies in hacking, according to a report from Bugcrowd platform, which surveyed 1,300 ethical hackers and security researchers.

The report revealed that only 21% of hackers saw AI as enhancing the value of hacking in 2023, that figure has surged to 71% in 2024.

This shift underscores the evolving role of AI in cybercrime, with generative AI solutions becoming more widespread — 77% of hackers now use such tools, up 13% from last year.

Despite this growth, hackers also appear to recognize the limitations of AI, with just 22% believing AI outperforms human hackers.

Less than a third (30%) said they think AI can replicate human creativity, figures consistent with the previous year’s findings.

However, AI’s impact on the hacking landscape is undeniable, with 93% agreeing that companies using AI tools have introduced a new attack vector.

Furthermore, 82% warn that the AI threat landscape is evolving too quickly to secure effectively.

Rise in Hardware Hacking

The report also highlighted a rise in hardware hacking: In the past year, 81% of hardware hackers encountered new vulnerabilities, and 64% believe these issues are more prevalent than a year ago.

More than eight in 10 (83%) of hardware hackers said they feel confident hacking AI-integrated hardware and software, however just 33% of the broader hacking community said they consider hardware hacking a valuable specialty — despite 80% of hardware hackers being self-taught.

Hacking remains a viable career path, especially for younger generations, with 88% of respondents aged 18-34.

Of those, 67% are either full-time hackers or pursuing a full-time career in the field. While 73% have a college degree, only 29% learned hacking through formal coursework.

Instead, 87% relied on online resources, 78% on self-study, and 43% on trial and error, suggesting the field’s appeal to self-motivated learners seeking flexible, remote work without needing a degree.

AI, Human Expertise Combined

Jason Soroko, senior fellow at Sectigo, said while AI is transforming hacking, he thinks the future of cybersecurity depends on combining AI tools with human expertise.

“AI accelerates both offensive and defensive strategies, but human insight remains crucial,” he explained. “Human-driven hacking remains vital, reaffirming the essential role of ethical hackers in defending against evolving threats.”

Patrick Harr, CEO of SlashNext Email Security+ said this report reinforces what has often been stated this past year — that AI is game-changing for businesses and organizations.

“However, it is also a productivity breakthrough for hackers to attack at scale at near zero cost. AI-assisted attacks are now commonplace in BEC, phishing and social engineering,” he said.

Harr said he anticipates it will become more prevalent in malware and large language model (LLM) poisoning and model injection.

“We are at the dawn of next level, AI-assisted attacks which will continue to accelerate due to the profit motives highlighted in this latest study,” he said.

John Bambenek, president at Bambenek Consulting, said the statistic that stood out most to him was the finding that 87% of hackers said they believe reporting a critical vulnerability is more important than making money off it.

“What this tells me is that among the hacking community there is a strong sense of ethics that it’s more important to protect society than it is to make money,” he said.

He said that bodes well because these skill sets are in big demand from less-than-human-rights-respecting regimes who would use these vulnerabilities to do real-world harm.

“In a global market where technology companies create tools and then leave it to their customers to secure themselves, it’s important that there is a class of people working to help make technology safe,” Bambenek said.