- Exabeam -Report claims that AI is driving insider threats that now surpass external cyberattacks
- Most companies have insider programs but lack advanced behavioral analysis needed for early detection
- Generative AI agents create faster, stealthis risk that traditional defense cannot easily catch
How organizations see insider risk is changing, according to a new report from Exabeam, which claims that insider threats have overtaken external attacks to become the biggest security concern, and it’s mostly down to AI.
Nearly two -thirds (64%) of the respondents said they are now seeing insiders, whether it is malicious or compromised, as a greater danger than outside actors – and generative AI is behind an increase in faster and stealthia attacks that are far more difficult to detect.
“Insiders are not just people anymore,” warned Exabeam manager AI and product manager, Steve Wilson. “They are AI agents who log in with valid credentials, forgery of trusted votes and make movements at the speed of the machine. The question is not just who has access – that is whether you can see when this access is abused.”
AI enhanced phishing and social engineering
Over half of organizations reported an increase in insider events in the past year, with most expected growth.
Government, manufacturing and healthcare are among the sectors that are stiffened to sharper increases, while Asia-Stophava and Japan expect the largest regional increases.
The Middle East region is the Outlier here, with almost a third of organizations expecting a fall, some exabeam suggests it could be down to either stronger defense or an underestimation of new AI risks.
AI-enhanced phishing and social engineering are now among the top insider tactics capable of adapting in real time and mimicking trusted communication on scale.
Unauthorized use of generative AI makes the challenge facing companies even more difficult, with three -quarters of organizations reporting non -approved activity.
Technology, government and financial services show the highest levels of concern.
Despite widespread adoption of AI in the security tool, insider threat programs remain a mixed bag that Exabeam found, while 88% of organizations have such programs in place, only 44% use actually user and device behavior analysis.
“AI has added a layer of speed and subtlety to insider activity that traditional defense was not built to detect,” said Kevin Kirkwood, CISO, Exabeam. “Safety teams implement AI to discover these developing threats, but without strong governance or clear supervision, it is a race they are struggling to win. This paradigm shift requires a basic new approach to insider threats.”
Exabeam’s report noted that its findings “pointed to a clear and consistent challenge” where “organizations are aware of insider threats, but most of the lack of visibility and cross -functional adaptation needed to tackle them effectively.”
“As AI becomes more embedded in corporate work, the emergence of AI agents adds a new layer of complexity. These agents are not inherently malicious, but their ability to act independently introduces risks that traditional controls can miss. To keep tempo, organizations need to develop their insider threat strategies.”
