By PNW Staff
September 01, 2026
Cybersecurity has always been a contest between attackers looking for vulnerabilities and defenders trying to close them.
But increasingly capable AI could fundamentally change that contest.
Imagine an AI system probing thousands of possible weaknesses at machine speed, discovering vulnerabilities humans haven’t noticed and adapting when defenders attempt to close them.
A successful attack might not simply affect one bank either. Modern finance depends upon interconnected payment networks, cloud t, software vendors and other technology providers used by multiple institutions.
Bailey specifically warned regulators to consider scenarios involving simultaneous disruption across multiple firms or shared technology dependencies. He has previously called for stronger international coordination in testing frontier models because cyber systems cross national w.
The FSB is taking the possibility seriously enough to emphasize the ability to restore critical systems and data from “bare metal” following a major cyber incident.
In simple terms, institutions need to contemplate scenarios in which systems are damaged badly enough that they essentially have to rebuild them from the ground up.
This is no longer just about someone stealing a credit-card number.
It is about systemic resilience.