India, Oct. 1 -- Cybersecurity has traditionally been a contest between human attackers and human defenders, fought through technology. In 2026, I see that equation changing. Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming part of the battle on both sides, reshaping how cyber threats emerge and how organisations respond to them.

What concerns me is how AI is lowering the barriers to sophisticated cyberattacks. Cybercriminals can now use it to create convincing phishing emails, imitate writing styles, generate fake identities and produce realistic voice and video deepfakes. Tasks that once demanded considerable time and technical expertise can increasingly be automated and executed at scale.

'The most valuable skill today is the ability...