According to research announced during the recent Black Hat conference in Vegas, some 62 per cent of infosec pros reckon weaponised AI will be in use by threat actors within 12 months. That artificial intelligence was on the agenda at Black Hat should come as no surprise. The promise of AI, from machine learning through to automation, in cyber security has become a major marketing tool amongst vendors. The good guys are clearly investing heavily in AI-defence research, but what about the bad guys? Itsik Mantin, director of research at Imperva, points to a demonstration at Defcon last week as to how "AI can be used to design malware utilising the results of thousands of hide and seek attempts by malware to sneak past anti-virus solutions by changing itself until it finds the right fit that allows it to sneak below the anti-virus radar."