- The report highlights an 89% annual surge in operations tied to AI-enabled actors.
- The average “breakout time” for eCrime incidents dropped to 29 minutes in 2025, with the quickest case unfolding in just 27 seconds.
- The firm recorded a sharp uptick in intrusion speed compared with last year.
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (CRWD) has issued its 2026 Global Threat Report, warning that artificial intelligence is dramatically speeding up cyberattacks while widening the range of corporate systems vulnerable to intrusion.
The cybersecurity firm found that criminals are breaching networks faster than ever, shrinking response windows for security teams across industries.
AI As Both Weapon And Target
The report highlights an 89% annual surge in operations tied to AI-enabled actors.
The average “breakout time” for eCrime incidents dropped to 29 minutes in 2025, with the quickest case unfolding in just 27 seconds. Attackers also compromised more than 90 organizations' generative AI platforms, embedding harmful prompts to steal credentials and digital assets.
CrowdStrike stock inched 0.3% higher in Tuesday’s premarket. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock changed to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ territory the previous day amid ‘extremely high’ message volume levels.
Breakout Times Hit Record Lows
The firm recorded a sharp uptick in intrusion speed compared with last year, noting that one breach saw data extraction begin within four minutes of entry.
“This is an AI arms race,” said Adam Meyers, head of counter-adversary operations at CrowdStrike. “Adversaries are moving from initial access to lateral movement in minutes. AI is compressing the time between intent and execution while turning enterprise AI systems into targets.”
Attackers increasingly exploited previously unknown software flaws, with 42% of vulnerabilities used before public disclosure. Cloud-focused incursions climbed 37% year-on-year.
CRWD Earnings Next Week
CrowdStrike stock dropped over 9% on Monday, after Anthropic introduced a new Claude AI security tool that checks code for weaknesses and recommends specific fixes.
The cybersecurity provider is scheduled to report fourth-quarter (Q4) earnings on March 3. Analysts expect a Q4 revenue of $1.29 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $1.1, according to Fiscal AI data.
CRWD stock has declined by more than 10% over the last 12 months.
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