The crucial question is not whether companies can afford modern IT security; rather, it is whether they can afford to forgo it.
What sounds starkly dire is increasingly becoming the reality for businesses in light of the rapid development of AI-powered cyberattacks. While large companies can expand their security structures, small and medium-sized businesses often lack the personnel and technical resources to keep up with the speed of new threats.
The reason: Artificial intelligence not only changes the development of new technologies; it also changes the capabilities of cybercriminals. IT systems can be automatically examined for vulnerabilities, potential attack paths can be analyzed, and security gaps can be exploited more purposefully. What used to require a lot of time, specialized knowledge, and manual work can increasingly be automated.
Two security vulnerabilities in the PHP programming language once again demonstrated in October 2026 how quickly technical vulnerabilities can turn into concrete threats. The case makes it clear that companies must question their previous security concepts.
Because if attackers become faster, the defense must also keep up.
The fundamental asymmetry in IT security remains: companies must secure all relevant vulnerabilities as much as possible. However, attackers often have only one successful entry point.
The deployment of AI exacerbates this imbalance. Systems can be automatically analyzed, potential vulnerabilities linked together, and attack opportunities more specifically identified. At the same time, the timeframes available to companies to respond to new threats can be shortened.
Regular updates remain indispensable. However, they alone are not enough. Companies must also understand which vulnerabilities in their specific IT environment actually pose a risk and whether a potential attack can be developed from them.
Therefore, it is not only important to know whether a vulnerability exists; it is also important to know whether attackers can exploit it and what paths they have open to accessing the company's IT systems.
Why classic security checks are reaching their limits
Many companies check their IT security at set intervals. Manual audits, classic vulnerability scanners, and occasional penetration tests are important components of a security strategy.
The problem: Between two exams, the attack surface can change. New systems are added, configurations are adjusted, software receives updates, and new vulnerabilities are discovered.
As attackers increasingly automate their investigations, there is a time disadvantage for companies that only occasionally review their own security situation.
The consequence is obvious: The defense also needs to be made more automated.
Automated penetration tests can help regularly review one’s own IT environment from an attacker’s perspective. Unlike a mere listing of potential vulnerabilities, the goal is to identify possible attack paths and to make it clear which risks can actually be exploited.
This provides companies with a better basis for prioritizing security measures based on their actual relevance.
Why the middle class in particular must not lose its grip on things
Large companies often have their own security teams, specialized tools, and established processes to respond to new threats. Small and medium-sized companies often do not have these capabilities.
There, only a few IT managers or external service providers are simultaneously responsible for the ongoing operation, updates, support, and numerous other tasks. Therefore, in addition to many other requirements, a new vulnerability must be evaluated and resolved.
As attackers continue to automate their technical capabilities while companies perform security checks only at increasingly longer intervals, the gap between attack and defense grows wider.
There is a threat of two-tier security: companies with the necessary personnel and technical resources can adapt their defenses to the new requirements. Others risk falling behind.
Small companies in particular are attractive targets when their IT systems are more easily vulnerable. Not necessarily because they possess particularly interesting data, but because security vulnerabilities there may be easier to exploit.
IT security should therefore not depend on whether a company can employ a large IT department or have its own security team.
Automated security must be practical and affordable
The answer to this development cannot be to have every company hire more and more staff or rely solely on complex individual checks. What is needed are solutions that make modern security procedures accessible and integrate them into the day-to-day operations of companies.
This is where automated security testing comes into play. It allows you to regularly examine your own IT environment for vulnerabilities and potential attack paths without having to perform any testing completely manually.
With the DEFENDERBOX, companies can automatically and continuously review their IT security from an attacker’s perspective. The solution helps to make vulnerabilities and potential attack paths visible and to assess risks in a comprehensible way.
The goal is not to replace human expertise. It is about using technical capabilities in a way that allows companies to more quickly recognize where they need to act – and to target their limited resources where they can achieve the greatest security gain.
Act now, instead of merely reacting to the next incident
AI-powered attacks are not a cause for panic. However, they are a clear reason to question existing security concepts. Anyone who continues to only check their IT security sporadically risks attackers detecting and exploiting changes faster than their own company can react to them.
Continuous security audits, automated penetration tests, and a clear prioritization of risks are therefore becoming increasingly important – especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
It’s not about completely eliminating every conceivable threat. It’s about knowing your own attack surface, identifying relevant risks in a timely manner, and being able to act in a well-informed manner.
Because the crucial question is not whether companies can afford modern IT security; the question is whether they can afford to forgo it.
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