Episode 17: Navigating the New Era of AI-driven Cyber Attacks

AI is changing the speed, scale and accessibility of cyber attacks. In this episode of Red Helix Cyber in Focus, Tom Exelby speaks to James Thoburn, Director of Incident Response at Thomas Murray, about what this means for organisations and security teams. Drawing on real-world incident response experience, James discusses an AI-enabled attack where an adversary used an LLM to identify vulnerabilities, execute commands and move through an environment in less than a day. They explore AI-driven cyber attacks, social engineering, business email compromise, ransomware, forensic investigations and AI in cyber defence, alongside the importance of SOC and MDR, security hygiene and effective incident response. The conversation also looks at how AI can help analysts cut through huge volumes of security data, why human decision-making remains essential, and how organisations can test their incident response plans before a real breach. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to AI-driven cyber threats 03:00 How AI reduces the skill barrier for attackers 06:06 AI agents and the reality behind the headlines 09:00 Forensic investigations in AI-enabled attacks 12:06 The changing speed of incident response 18:02 Social engineering and business email compromise 20:01 AI and automation in incident response 24:05 Using AI to reduce noise and prioritise threats 29:57 AI-generated ransomware and malware 31:58 Why basic security controls still matter 35:59 Testing incident response plans 37:56 Cyber crisis tabletop exercises 40:02 Practical advice for CISOs 41:58 Thomas Murray CyberResponse+ Resources Tom Exelby on LinkedIn:   / tomexelby   James Thoburn on LinkedIn:   / dfirjames   Red Helix: https://www.redhelix.com CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report: https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-gb/glo...