The Sophistication of AI Changing the Hacking Landscape
AI Haunting Ethical Hackers
The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology now has a broad impact, not only on office workers but also on ethical hackers. One prominent figure in the hacking world, Valentina Palmiotti, known as "Chompie," has begun to feel the significant effects of AI development. She revealed that these changes make the future of hacking increasingly difficult to predict.
The Role of AI in Finding Security Vulnerabilities
Chompie admits that current AI technology greatly assists her work, especially in discovering security flaws or bugs in software. However, with the emergence of the latest AI models like Claude Mythos and GPT 5.5 Cyber, their capabilities are rapidly advancing. This raises concerns that AI could replace hackers in finding vulnerabilities that are relatively easy to identify. As a result, cybersecurity researchers are required to work harder to find new vulnerabilities that AI systems have not yet detected.
The Pwn2Own Competition and Chompie's Concerns
At the prestigious Pwn2Own Berlin 2026 hacking competition, Chompie won the highest individual prize of 70,000 US dollars, approximately IDR 1.2 billion. She stated, "I participated in Pwn2Own this year because I thought this might be my last chance." Chompie feels that common security flaws will increasingly be found by AI, potentially replacing the role of ethical hackers. She also added that she currently uses AI to speed up her research process, especially in her work at IBM X-Force.
Optimism Amid AI Challenges
Although Chompie feels worried, there are also optimistic views from other hackers, such as Orang Tsai, who also achieved success at Pwn2Own Berlin. Together with his team, Tsai won a prize of 375,000 US dollars (around IDR 6.7 billion) thanks to their success in finding a very complex exploitation path. Tsai believes that AI is a very helpful tool to accelerate research workflows. He revealed, "AI feels like an amazing assistant to speed up the research workflow. For example, I can use AI to research other things while I am resting."
While Tsai acknowledges that AI pushes hackers to improve their skills, he still believes that human creativity and intuition will remain crucial factors in finding vulnerabilities that machines cannot detect.
Facing the rapid development of AI, hackers are required to adapt and continuously sharpen their skills. Perhaps, in the future, collaboration between humans and AI will be the key to overcoming various challenges in the cybersecurity world.
Source: https://tekno.kompas.com/read/2026/06/28/11020077/ketika-kecanggihan-ai-bikin-hacker-top-dunia-khawatir
