FBI says even in an AI-powered world, security basics still matter | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"FBI and CISA officials warned that while AI accelerates cyberattacks, "back to basics" defenses remain the most effective shield. Discover why the FBI says you shouldn't worry about AI speed.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fbi-operation-winter-shield-ai-cyber-defense-jason-bilnoski\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FBI says even in an AI-powered world, security basics still matter\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"FBI and CISA officials warned that while AI accelerates cyberattacks, "back to basics" defenses remain the most effective shield. Discover why the FBI says you shouldn't worry about AI speed.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fbi-operation-winter-shield-ai-cyber-defense-jason-bilnoski\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cyberscoop\/\"> <meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T19:31:04+00:00\"> <meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T19:31:07+00:00\"> <meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg\"> <meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\"> <meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\"> <meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\"> <meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Starks\"> <meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\"> <meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@timstarks\"> <meta 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\/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"26.251732101617\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"35.783561643836\">\n<p> AI is speeding up attacks but otherwise not changing their fundamental nature, said FBI official Jason Bilnoski. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/88164\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter.jpg?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg?resize=600,450 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg?resize=224,168 224w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg?resize=449,337 449w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg?resize=900,675 900w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-2.jpg?resize=1124,843 1124w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"><figcaption> The main headquarters of the FBI, the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"24.411786646774\"><body readability=\"53.063441350981\"><\/p>\n<p>Artificial intelligence may be enhancing cyber threats, but the defensive approach to those AI-amplified attacks remains the same, a top FBI official said Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have seen actors both criminal and nation-state, they\u2019re absolutely using AI to their advantage,\u201d said Jason Bilnoski, deputy assistant director at the FBI\u2019s cyber division. \u201cBut the way attacks unfold have not changed. Cyberattacks still follow basic steps. It just becomes an incredible speed now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The best way to deal with those attacks is to implement all the traditional defenses, like those the FBI has been emphasizing as part of its Operation Winter SHIELD <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/brett-leatherman-fbi-cyber-priorities-winter-shield\/\">media campaign<\/a>, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t worry about the speed and capability\u201d of AI attacks, Biloski said at a Billington Cybersecurity conference. \u201cIf you\u2019re focused on the basics, it\u2019ll help prevent the actual intrusion from occurring.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s a message that the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Nick Andersen, also shared at the conference. Sophisticated attackers are out there, he said, but the agency\u2019s recent binding operational directive for federal agencies to get rid of <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cisa-bod-directive-unsupported-edge-devices-firewalls-routers\/\">unsupported edge devices<\/a> was a way of shoring up basic vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe continue to see any non-zero-days continuing to be exploited within this environment,\u201d he said. \u201cThe very least that we can do is harden that edge and make it just a little bit more difficult to take advantage in that regard.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>His advice to state and local officials was to take a \u201cback to the basics\u201d approach, such as adopting multi-factor authentication.<\/p>\n<p>Bilnoski offered further warnings about the threat, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIdentity is the new perimeter. You\u2019re hunting legitimate traffic on your network,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we\u2019re no longer seeing malware drop. We\u2019re no longer seeing these very noisy TTPs [tactics, techniques and procedures]. It\u2019s legitimate credentials moving laterally throughout the network, as if it\u2019s a legitimate user on the network. You need to hunt the adversaries as if they\u2019re already on your network, because that\u2019s the type of activity you\u2019re looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"7.7216117216117\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Tim Starks\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-card__details\" readability=\"10.901098901099\">\n<h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Tim Starks<\/h4>\n<p> Tim Starks is senior reporter at CyberScoop. His previous stops include working at The Washington Post, POLITICO and Congressional Quarterly. An Evansville, Ind. native, he’s covered cybersecurity since 2003. Email Tim here: <a href=\"mailto:tim.starks@cyberscoop.com\">tim.starks@cyberscoop.com<\/a>. <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"popular-stories popular-stories--single-post\">\n<div 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{"id":8420,"date":"2026-03-10T14:31:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T19:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=88164"},"modified":"2026-03-10T14:31:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T19:31:04","slug":"fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2026\/03\/10\/fbi-says-even-in-an-ai-powered-world-security-basics-still-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI says even in an AI-powered world, security basics still matter"},"content":{"rendered":"