Machine vs. Machine: Hackbots in AI Security

This report examines the emergence of AI-driven 'hackbots'—autonomous agents capable of large-scale reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery, adaptive exploitation, and continuous operation—while also describing how similar AI capabilities can be leveraged defensively for monitoring, patching, configuration, and incident response; it highlights risks such as adaptive attacks and AI hallucinations and emphasizes the need for organizational readiness and human review.