AI Agents Are Being Drafted into the Cyber Defense Forces of Corporations

The rise of generative AI and large language models has drastically shifted the cybersecurity landscape, empowering attackers with easy-to-use tools that create realistic video and voice deepfakes, personalized phishing campaigns, and malware. This surge in AI-powered cybercrime has prompted corporations to deploy agentic AI as a new line of defense. Agentic AI is increasingly embedded in enterprises, not only in finance and legal sectors but also in cybersecurity, where AI agents play a crucial role in detection, analysis, and alerting.

"It's a massive challenge to detect, contain, investigate and respond across larger companies," said Brian Murphy, CEO of cybersecurity technology company ReliaQuest. "AI is allowing us to remove a lot of that noise, that tier one or tier two work, that work that's often not at all relevant to something that could be threatening to an organization."

The core advantage of agentic AI lies in automating menial or time-consuming tasks, freeing human workers to focus on more strategic and complex issues. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy highlighted this potential in a June message to employees, envisioning "billions of these agents, across every company and in every imaginable field," helping workers focus less on rote work and more on strategic thinking. Murphy emphasizes the cybersecurity workforce's struggle with burnout and talent shortages, exacerbated by the volume of routine tasks. He notes that AI-powered phishing attacks have become far more sophisticated, requiring defenders to leverage AI themselves to keep pace. ReliaQuest recently launched GreyMatter Agentic Teammates, autonomous AI agents designed to assist security operations teams by taking on tasks typically performed by detection engineers or threat intelligence researchers. These AI teammates act as personas working alongside humans, multiplying the effectiveness of incident response analysts. For example, when an executive travels internationally, every device connection to foreign networks triggers alerts. An agentic AI teammate can automate verifying the executive’s secure usage, reducing manual workload. Similar automation can be applied to board meetings, off-sites, and other organizational events. Justin Dellaportas, Chief Information and Security Officer at Syniverse, notes that AI agents have begun automating basic cybersecurity tasks like log analysis and are now extending to actions such as quarantining suspicious emails and restricting compromised account access.

"[AI] is being used by criminals to efficiently find vulnerabilities and exploits into organizations at scale," Dellaportas said. "Cyber defenders really need to lean into this technology now more than ever to stay ahead of this evolving threat landscape and the pace of cyber criminals."

Dellaportas describes the adoption of agentic AI in cybersecurity as a "crawl, walk, run methodology," where AI first reasons, then takes action, and iterates based on outcomes, emphasizing a "trust but verify" approach.

What AI Bots Mean for Cybersecurity Workers

Both Dellaportas and Murphy agree that AI agents will augment rather than replace human cybersecurity professionals. Agentic AI helps address the skills gap by automating routine tasks and enabling workers to focus on higher-value activities. Murphy points out that while there is a shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals, many people are eager to be trained. AI can accelerate knowledge transfer by handling entry-level tasks that traditionally resemble help desk work. Education and trust remain critical for deploying agentic AI effectively, with ongoing discussions across business lines about how AI tools can help achieve organizational objectives. A May 2025 Gartner poll of 147 CIOs and IT leaders found that 24% had deployed AI agents, mostly across internal functions like IT, HR, and accounting, with fewer in external customer-facing roles. Avivah Litan, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner, said companies experimenting with agentic AI in cybersecurity find it "moderately beneficial," though questions remain about scaling beyond simpler tasks.

"Security has always been the low-hanging fruit use case for AI," Litan said. "You first saw AI show up with fraud detection, so it's 100% that we're going to have digital security assistance in the future doing work and freeing up staff to take on the new attacks. The key will be making sure they stay up with all this innovation so they can see the whole attack surface."

Murphy believes corporate adoption of agentic AI in cybersecurity may outpace other sectors like finance or legal because companies recognize AI is already being used against them, making AI-powered defense essential.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How does agentic AI function in cybersecurity?

Agentic AI in cybersecurity functions by automating detection, analysis, and alerting processes. These AI agents handle routine and time-consuming tasks, allowing human cybersecurity professionals to focus on more strategic and complex threats.

What are the key benefits of using AI agents for cyber defense?

The key benefits include automating menial tasks, reducing the workload on cybersecurity teams, combating burnout and talent shortages, and enabling human workers to focus on higher-value activities. AI also helps in keeping pace with increasingly sophisticated AI-powered cyberattacks.

Will AI agents replace cybersecurity professionals?

The consensus is that AI agents will augment, rather than replace, human cybersecurity professionals. They are seen as tools to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of security operations, addressing skill gaps by handling entry-level tasks.

How is agentic AI being implemented in cybersecurity?

Agentic AI is being adopted through a "crawl, walk, run methodology." Initially, AI reasons and analyzes data, then it progresses to taking actions like quarantining suspicious emails or restricting account access, iterating based on outcomes and employing a "trust but verify" approach.

What are the challenges in deploying agentic AI in cybersecurity?

Key challenges include the need for ongoing education and building trust among users and stakeholders. There are also questions about scaling AI solutions beyond simpler tasks and ensuring they stay updated with the rapid pace of innovation in both cyber threats and AI capabilities.

Crypto Market AI's Take

The increasing integration of AI agents into corporate cybersecurity is a significant development, mirroring the broader trend of AI adoption across industries, including finance. At AI Crypto Market, we understand the critical role of advanced technology in securing digital assets and operations. Our platform leverages AI not only for sophisticated market analysis and trading strategies but also for enhancing security measures within our own ecosystem. Just as companies are deploying AI for defense against cyber threats, we utilize AI to protect user data and assets, ensuring a secure and efficient trading environment. The evolution of AI agents in cybersecurity highlights the dual-use nature of these powerful technologies, where innovation in one field often spurs advancements in others, creating a dynamic landscape for both offense and defense.

AI agents are being drafted into the cyber defense forces of corporations