AI Security in 2026: When Robots Turn Against Us | Aravind Arumugam
cybersecurity5 min read
AI Security in 2026: When Robots Turn Against Us
Why December 2025 Changed Everything
December 2025 was a huge month for AI safety. Three big things happened. First, a group called OWASP released a "Top 10" list of dangers for smart AI robots. Second, NIST (a government agency) wrote a new guide because old security rules weren't working. Third, experts made a scary prediction: 2026 will be the year an AI robot goes "rogue" and causes a public disaster.
This shows us a hard truth. Most companies are using old security rules. These rules were made for humans and regular computer programs. They were not made for Independent AI that can think, act fast, and move through computer systems quicker than any human can stop them.
The OWASP Top 10 for "Smart" AI
In December 2025, OWASP gave us the first real list of dangers for autonomous (independent) AI. These aren't normal computer bugs. These are risks that come from how AI thinks and learns.
Here are the biggest dangers:
Prompt Injection: This is like a "Jedi Mind Trick" for computers. Hackers use special words to confuse the AI and make it do bad things.
Excessive Agency: This means giving an AI too much freedom without a human watching it.
Bad Memory:
Sometimes AI stores secrets in its memory that hackers can steal.
Leaking Secrets: AI might accidentally tell a stranger your private passwords or business plans.
These are dangerous because they use the AI's own brain against it. Regular antivirus software can't spot them because they look like normal words.
Trick Questions: From Prank to Crisis
"Prompt Injection" used to be just a fun trick people played on chatbots. But by the end of 2025, it became a serious problem for big companies. There are two ways this happens:
Direct Attack: A hacker types tricky words right into the chat box.
Hidden Attack: A hacker hides invisible tricky words in a website or document. When the AI reads it, it gets confused and follows the hacker's orders.
This is a big deal. If it works, a hacker could trick an AI into giving away passwords or deleting files. In September 2025, real spies used AI to run a huge attack without any humans helping them. This proved that "rogue AI" is not just in movies anymore.
The Danger Coming from Inside
We used to worry about bad employees stealing secrets. Now we have to worry about Bad AI Agents.
Unlike a human who goes home at 5 PM, an AI agent works 24/7. It can think fast and do thousands of things in a second. If a hacker steals an AI's password (or tricks it), it could start working for the bad guys instantly.
Experts think that in 2026, we will see the first big news story about an AI "breaking out" and causing damage. We already saw signs of this in late 2025, where AI agents made decisions that broke safety rules.
Identity Crisis: Who is Real?
In 2026, the biggest fight in cybersecurity won't be about computer viruses. It will be about Identity.
AI is now so good at copying voices and faces that it's getting hard to tell what is real. This creates a "Who is Real?" crisis. Bad guys can use ID to fake a boss's voice or a video call.
Companies have a problem. They have thousands of AI "robots" logging into their systems. These robots need passwords too. If a hacker steals an AI's password, they can pretend to be that AI and do anything it can do.
Fighting Back with AI
Security teams are learning that you need AI to fight AI. They are using "Good AI" to watch over the "Bad AI."
AI Red Teaming: This is like a practice drill where good guys try to hack their own AI to find weak spots.
Behavior Watching: Special programs watch the AI 24/7. If the AI starts acting weird, the program shuts it down.
AI Firewalls: These are special blockers that read every message sent to the AI. If they see a "trick question," they block it.
This new way of fighting is working. Teams that use AI security can fix problems 30% to 50% faster than before.
What You Should Do
Smart security teams are already following the new OWASP rules. They treat AI robots like new employees that need to be watched.
They are building "Kill Switches." This is a big red button (in code) that can turn off the AI instantly if it starts doing something bad. They are also being very careful about what access they give to AI. They don't let an AI have the "keys to the castle" without a human checking first.
Summary
December 2025 changed everything. We moved from worrying about humans to worrying about independent robots. The new rules from OWASP and the warnings from NIST show us that our old security walls aren't high enough.
Trick questions (prompt injection) and fake identities are the new weapons. If we don't start using the new safety rules, 2026 could be a very messy year. The companies that are ready will use AI to stay safe. The ones that aren't ready might be the first victims of a rogue AI.
