Lithuania warns AI accelerates cyberattacks, making detection harder

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to accelerate cyberattacks and make them harder to detect, Lithuania's National Cyber Security Center warned Thursday in its latest annual threat assessment.

In its 2025 Cyber Threats Report, compiled with international partners, the center said AI tools are enabling both criminal networks and state-backed actors to carry out more sophisticated and large-scale cyber operations, according to public broadcaster LRT.

The report said AI is being used to speed up reconnaissance of targets, generate convincing phishing messages and identify and exploit system vulnerabilities more efficiently than traditional methods.

It also warned of a shift in ransomware activity, with attackers increasingly focusing on cloud environments and software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms, where large volumes of sensitive data and critical business operations are hosted.

The center noted that many distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks were carried out by politically motivated hacktivist groups, often targeting countries supporting Ukraine.

Phishing remains the most common entry point for cyberattacks, the report said, adding that AI-generated messages are making fraudulent communications increasingly difficult for users and organizations to distinguish from legitimate correspondence.

In a separate development highlighted by Lithuanian officials, the country's national security adviser said he was recently targeted in a suspected intelligence operation involving voice impersonation of a senior Ukrainian official.

Deividas Matulionis said he received a call in May from an individual impersonating Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's defence council secretary, in what officials believe was an attempt by Russian intelligence services.

He said no sensitive information was disclosed during the call.