Weaponized AI Fuels Surge in Cyber Espionage and Underground Hacking Markets

Artificial intelligence tools are rapidly transitioning from assistants to offensive weapons, with intelligence agencies warning that foreign spies actively target U.S. AI laboratories while underground cybercrime markets flood with AI-powered hacking services. The transformation has accelerated dramatically over the past year, reshaping both state-sponsored espionage and commercial cybercrime in ways that far exceed conventional hacking capabilities.