Agentic AI in Cyber Defence and Attack: The Autonomous Era of Security

Agentic AI in Cyber Defence and Attack

In 2025, cybersecurity is entering a new phase shaped by the rise of agentic AI. These systems are not simple assistants that wait for instructions. They act, plan, solve problems, coordinate tools, learn from feedback, and continue working toward a goal even when conditions change. This shift is influencing both sides of the cyber world: defenders who want faster and smarter protection, and attackers who are using automation and autonomy to scale operations.

Agentic AI represents a step beyond traditional automation and rule based playbooks. Instead of performing one isolated task when commanded, these agents build multi step strategies, adapt in real time, use integrated tools, and evaluate progress. They operate closer to how a skilled analyst works, but at machine speed and without stopping.

For defenders, the promise is significant. Imagine systems that monitor the network continuously, detect suspicious activity, investigate indicators, isolate endpoints, and initiate remediation without waiting for human approval at every step. This could dramatically shorten dwell time and reduce the impact of incidents.

For attackers, the opportunity is equally powerful. A single threat actor can now rely on an agent to perform reconnaissance, craft targeted phishing based on harvested context, exploit weaknesses, and move laterally. The agent can retry, replan, and escalate without human fatigue. The gap between elite cyber criminals and less skilled actors becomes smaller when autonomy is available to everyone.

Key points

Agentic AI is goal oriented technology that breaks down complex problems, acts across multiple steps, and keeps working until an objective is reached.
In defence, agents can perform continuous monitoring, alert triage, threat hunting, and automated mitigation.
In attack, agents can automate reconnaissance, vulnerability scanning, exploitation, credential harvesting, and lateral movement.
The speed advantage is shifting. Offence and defence can both operate faster than human teams alone.
Governance, control, identity management, and observability become critical. Without them, autonomous systems can behave in unpredictable ways.
Organisations need to evaluate where agents can help and where human oversight must remain.
The technology also introduces new risks, including misuse of internal tools, poisoning of agent memory, and manipulation of decision paths.
Investors and technology leaders should watch companies building safe agent frameworks, autonomous response platforms, and machine identity management.

ThreatMon Insights

Agentic AI is not simply a stronger tool. It introduces a different operational model. Security strategies must adapt to environments where autonomous systems make decisions and take actions.
The defender’s advantage of time and analysis is shrinking. Attackers can now operate at machine speed. Security teams will need autonomous defence systems that can match offensive tempo.
Attack surfaces expand to include the internal logic and state of the agent. Protecting data, memory, tool integrations, and control interfaces becomes essential.
Successful deployment of agentic AI requires strong governance. This includes identity and permission controls for agents, human override paths, real time logging of decisions and actions, and strict tool whitelisting.
The organisations that treat agentic AI as a controlled and monitored system will gain value. Those that treat it like a regular automation tool may introduce new vulnerabilities without realising it.
At ThreatMon we will continue tracking developments in agent driven intrusion campaigns, agentic defence systems, industry standards, best practices for safety, and indicators that separate hype from measurable progress.