AI-Driven Cyber Espionage Is Here- Why Gartner^® Says Preemptive Cybersecurity Must Come Next 

AI is no longer just a defensive tool in cybersecurity. It’s now a force multiplier for attackers. 

Recent reporting on an AI-driven cyber-espionage campaign signals a turning point: adversaries are successfully leveraging AI to scale reconnaissance, automate attack paths, and accelerate exploitation.  

This isn’t theoretical. It’s operational. 

The message for enterprise leaders is clear: reactive security models are reaching their limits. 

In new Gartner research, Emerging Tech: AI Vendor Race — AI Espionage Campaign Emphasizes Need for Preemptive Cybersecurity¹, analysts warn that AI-enabled attacks will continue to grow in speed, scale, and sophistication…and that organizations must shift toward preemptive, autonomous defense strategies to keep up.    

AI Is Accelerating Cyber-Espionage, and Automation Changes the Game   

AI agents are enabling more scalable and automated cyber-espionage operations. Instead of slow, manual attacker workflows, organizations now face adaptive, automated campaigns that can probe environments, adjust tactics, and move faster than human defenders can respond.   

According to Gartner, the growing use of AI agents in cyber-espionage and automated attack campaigns will directly increase demand for preemptive countermeasures. As attacks become more scalable and autonomous, defensive strategies must evolve in parallel. Organizations are being pushed toward security models that anticipate attacker paths, neutralize exploitable conditions earlier, and apply protective controls before malicious activity can execute — not after alerts trigger.   

This shift is as much about operational scalability as it is about protection. When defenses can act earlier in the attack chain, security teams reduce alert fatigue, response overhead, and downstream incident costs. 

This aligns with what we’re already seeing in the field. In Morphisec’s analysis of the Anthropic-linked activity, AI is increasingly being used not just to generate malicious content, but to improve attacker decision-making and operational efficiency.   

When attacks become autonomous, defense must become preemptive.   

Gartner: Shift From Detection and Response to Preemptive Action 

For years, cybersecurity programs have centered on monitoring, detection, and response. But AI-driven attacks compress timelines and overwhelm reactive workflows.   

Gartner recommends a strategic shift: Move product focus from monitoring, detection, and response to predictive threat intelligence and preemptive action — leveraging AI to forecast attacker intent and prioritize defenses.   

This shift isn’t just about better protection. It’s about scalability and ROI. Preemptive controls reduce incident frequency and blast radius, lowering operational burden and downstream breach costs.   

In other words: fewer fires to fight, not just faster fire response.   

Preemptive Cybersecurity Technologies Take Center Stage   

The Gartner research highlights specific categories that security leaders should prioritize; especially those designed to proactively disrupt and prevent attacks before exploitation occurs.   

It points security leaders toward a new class of defensive technologies designed not just to detect threats, but to prevent exploitation before it occurs. Rather than relying primarily on alerts and post-event response, the focus is shifting to controls that proactively reduce attack success rates.  

This includes modern exposure management approaches, AI-driven simulation and analytics, Automated Moving Target Defense (AMTD), and emerging autonomous cyber-immune capabilities that continuously adapt to attacker behavior.   

AMTD technologies are especially important in this model because they dynamically change runtime conditions and attack surfaces, breaking attacker assumptions and disrupting exploit chains in real time.  

Instead of chasing indicators after compromise, these approaches stop attacks at the point of execution, including novel and previously unseen techniques. This is the foundation of a truly preemptive security posture.   

The Rise of Autonomous Cyber-Immune Systems   

Perhaps the most striking Gartner projection: “By 2030, 75% or more of large enterprise organizations will implement autonomous cyber-immune system capabilities as part of their preemptive countermeasures against AI-driven threats — up from less than 5% in 2025.”   

That’s not incremental change — that’s architectural transformation.   

Autonomous cyber-immune systems represent the convergence of predictive analytics, adaptive controls, and preemptive runtime protection. These architectures are designed to continuously evaluate risk conditions, anticipate attacker behavior, and automatically enforce defensive measures without waiting for manual intervention.  

The Gartner projection that most large enterprises will adopt these capabilities by 2030 signals a major architectural shift, from security programs built around response workflows to environments that are engineered to resist exploitation by design.   

This model blends predictive threat intelligence with automated disruption and adaptive exposure reduction, creating defensive layers that operate continuously rather than episodically. The result is a more resilient and scalable security strategy that keeps pace with AI-accelerated threats.   

Together, these capabilities move organizations from reactive posture to continuous, self-protecting environments.   

From Exposure Management to Adaptive Exposure Management   

Traditional exposure management helps identify risk. But modern environments change too quickly for static assessment alone.   

Adaptive Exposure Management (a key pillar within Morphisec’s Anti Ransomware Assurance platform) continuously evaluates and reduces exploitable conditions while pairing visibility with preemptive runtime protection.   

That combination matters. Visibility without prevention still leaves a window open. Adaptive, preemptive controls close it.   

Why This Matters for the C-Suite   

For executive leadership, the rise of AI-driven attacks is not just a technical concern; it’s a business risk multiplier.  

Faster, more automated attack campaigns increase the probability and potential impact of high-severity incidents. Preemptive cybersecurity strategies directly support executive priorities by lowering breach likelihood, reducing recovery costs, and strengthening operational resilience. They also improve the return on security investment by shifting spend toward prevention rather than repeated incident response cycles.   

Security programs that prevent exploitation (instead of only detecting compromise) align more closely with enterprise risk management, financial planning, and reputational protection goals.   

Security programs that prevent exploitation (versus just detect it) are better aligned with business risk management and financial outcomes.   

Get the Full Gartner Analysis   

AI-enabled cyber-espionage is accelerating. Defensive models must evolve just as quickly.   

The Gartner® research lays out why preemptive cybersecurity, AMTD, and autonomous cyber-immune capabilities are becoming essential (not optional) for large enterprises. Get a complimentary copy of the Gartner Emerging Tech: AI Vendor Race — AI Espionage Campaign Emphasizes Need for Preemptive Cybersecurity Report to learn how your organization can prepare for AI-enabled threats. 

¹Gartner Emerging Tech: AI Vendor Race — AI Espionage Campaign Emphasizes Need for Preemptive Cybersecurity, Carl Manion, Charanpal Bhogal, published 3 December 2025 
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About the author

Brad LaPorte | New York

Chief Marketing Officer

Brad LaPorte is a seasoned cybersecurity expert and former military officer specializing in cybersecurity and military intelligence for the United States military and allied forces. With a distinguished career at Gartner as a top-rated research analyst, Brad was instrumental in establishing key industry categories such as Attack Surface Management (ASM), Extended Detection & Response (XDR), Digital Risk Protection (DRP), and the foundational elements of Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM). His forward-thinking approach led to the inception of Secureworks’ MDR service and the EDR product Red Cloak—industry firsts. At IBM, he spearheaded the creation of the Endpoint Security Portfolio, as well as MDR, Vulnerability Management, Threat Intelligence, and Managed SIEM offerings, further solidifying his reputation as a visionary in cybersecurity solutions years ahead of its time. He is based in Morphisec’s New York office at 122 Grand St, New York, NY.