Chilling Warning from Former NYT Cyber Reporter at Black Hat

At Black Hat USA 2025 in Las Vegas, Nicole Perlroth, former cybersecurity reporter for The New York Times and now a founding partner at Silver Buckshot Ventures, delivered a stark message on the accelerating dangers of AI-driven cyber threats.

Perlroth warned that malware is becoming autonomous, ransomware now operates like a subscription service, and AI is distorting reality itself. These attacks are no longer confined to digital systems but increasingly target public discourse, critical infrastructure, and democratic institutions. “The question is not whether we can stop them,” she said, “it’s if we even have the courage to try.”

Reflecting on her reporting career, she recalled the Sony breach, Middle East wiperware, and the DNC hack, describing them as direct assaults on freedoms like the First Amendment. Each case, she noted, underscored the escalating human and societal costs of cyber conflict.

Today’s attackers use AI to identify business-critical assets, craft persuasive phishing campaigns, manipulate victims psychologically, and even deploy chatbots during ransomware negotiations. Yet, Perlroth stressed there is hope. Emerging defenses—real-time deepfake detection, scalable risk assessments, and democratized security tools—offer a path forward. Her closing call was urgent: “We can still steer AI, but the window is closing fast.”