Being benign hackers, their views and motivations may not exactly mirror those of state-sponsored threat actors, but let’s hear them out

Based on an analysis of responses from 1,300 ethical hackers from over 80 countries* using a self-named “crowdsourced security platform”, some cybersecurity sentiments from this group of people have been announced to the media.

First, 71% of hackers surveyed indicated a belief that AI technologies increase the value of hacking, compared to only 21% in a similar survey in 2023.

Second, 82% of respondents from the platform they used, indicated the belief that the AI threat landscape is evolving too fast to adequately secure.

Other findings   

Third, about 77% indicated they were increasingly using generative AI solutions for their hacking activities. Additionally:

  • 93% agreed that firms using AI tools have created a new attack vector.
  • 86% believed that AI has fundamentally changed their approach to hacking.
  • 74% believed that AI has made hacking more accessible, opening the door for newcomers to join the fold.
  • 73% reported being confident in their ability to uncover vulnerabilities in AI-powered apps.
  • 81% of hardware hackers in the survey cited encountering a new vulnerability they had never seen before in the last 12 months, and 64% believed that there are more vulnerabilities now than a year ago. Additionally, 83% of hardware hackers indicated they were confident in their ability to hack AI-powered hardware and software, comprising 80% who claimed they were self-taught.
  • 33% of the surveyed hackers identified hardware hacking as one of the most valuable specialties.
  • 88% of respondents were between the ages of 18 and 34. Additionally, 67% indicated that they were either hacking full-time or actively trying to pursue a full-time hacking career. About 73% reported having a college degree or higher. In terms of training, 87% reported learning through online resources, 78% through self-study, and 43% through trial and error.

According to Michael Skelton, VP of Security Operations, Bugcrowd, the platform that conducted the analysis: “Hardware hacking, or the exploitation of vulnerabilities in the physical components of electronic devices, was once considered a specialized field. However, the proliferation of inexpensive, vulnerable smart devices has increased interest in hardware hacking among both ethical hackers and cybercriminals.”

*from the United States, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Egypt, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Australia and other unnamed countries