Hackers are increasingly using AI to detect software vulnerabilities, which has shortened the time that targets have to respond to threats, Verizon said in an annual report tracking data breaches. Verizon said using software flaws in data surpassed stolen credentials for the first time. It said in a review of more than 31,000 incidents, 31% of all breaches started with vulnerability exploitation, adding "AI is fundamentally reshaping the cybersecurity industry." The annual report that reviews a wide range of industry data shows intruders are using generative artificial intelligence to help at all stages of attacks "including targeting, initial access, and development of malware and other tools." AI was being used by threat actors "to accelerate the time to exploit known vulnerabilities, shrinking the window for defense from months to mere hours," the report said.