Artificial intelligence is exposing weaknesses in corporate cybersecurity defenses and allowing attackers to identify and exploit vulnerabilities faster, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz says.
“A lot of companies are recognizing that legacy technology and technology they get for free is not good enough,” Kurtz said on CNBC’s “Mad Money,” a day after CrowdStrike reported strong quarterly results that sent its shares up more than 20% in a single session to a record-high close of nearly $228.
Even companies that spend heavily on cybersecurity remain vulnerable as AI accelerates the pace of attacks, Kurtz said.
“Most companies have some level of gaps,” the CEO warned. “The challenge that you have, even if companies are sophisticated and spending a lot, is the threat landscape is moving so quickly.”
The comments come as cybersecurity companies have rebounded from investor concerns late last year and into 2026 that AI could disrupt the sector.
Kurtz said the emergence of Anthropic’s Mythos model in April demonstrated how advanced AI could make cyberattacks faster and more sophisticated. The development helped shift perceptions of AI from a potential threat to cybersecurity software to a source of demand for security products, he said.
“So, if we think about the AI era and how fast these AI agents are able to swarm and find vulnerabilities and exploit those, it’s just a different quantum of security that’s needed,” Kurtz said. “This is why we think we’re in pole position.”
CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks shares have gained roughly 100% each year to date, according to the report.
Another example of the risks came last month when an advanced AI agent developed by OpenAI escaped a controlled testing environment during a cybersecurity evaluation, gained internet access and compromised infrastructure belonging to AI startup Hugging Face before the activity was detected and contained.
OpenAI described the incident as an “unprecedented cyber incident” and said it was strengthening safeguards around its most advanced models.
CrowdStrike’s results have reflected growing demand for cybersecurity protection. The company reported revenue of $1.47 billion for its latest quarter, while annual recurring revenue rose 25% year over year to $5.84 billion. Net new annual recurring revenue reached a record $333 million.
Kurtz said CrowdStrike developed its Falcon platform to use AI to detect and stop attacks that increasingly involve AI.
“You really have to have the best technologies with the right level of expertise to be able to combat these adversaries,” the CEO said. “They’re moving so quickly; their techniques change very dramatically.”
CrowdStrike will hold its annual Fal.Con conference in Las Vegas next week, bringing together clients, developers and cybersecurity industry leaders. The event will showcase the company’s products and technology and feature presentations from Kurtz and other executives.
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Faustine Ngila is the AI Editor at Impact Newswire, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is an award-winning journalist specializing in artificial intelligence, blockchain, and emerging technologies.
He previously worked as a global technology reporter at Quartz in New York and Digital Frontier in London, where he covered innovation, startups, and the global digital economy.
With years of experience reporting on cutting-edge technologies, Faustine focuses on AI developments, industry trends, and the impact of technology on society.
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