AI-Enabled Cyberspace Operations

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the offence–defence balance in cyberspace. Drawing on recent cases (PromptLock ransomware, Auto-Exploit pipelines, and the Air Force’s DASH wargame) and a systematic review of academic articles, this study examines how AI alters tempo, cost, and thresholds in cyberspace operations. Findings show that AI accelerates offensive exploitation, enables polymorphism, and lowers expertise requirements, while defence depends on machine-speed decision support constrained by institutional readiness. The short-term tilt favours offence, yet policy-aware autonomy and resilient governance can restore partial parity. AI functions as a structural force influencing the trajectory of state competition in cyberspace.