From auto suppliers to hospitals, a new wave of AI-driven vulnerabilities could overwhelm defenses—experts warn BIRMINGHAM – Cybersecurity is entering a phase few businesses are prepared for—and the consequences could hit Michigan’s economy hard. In an interview with MITechNews, cybersecurity analyst Richard Stiennon, founder of IT-Harvest, described what he calls a “break-glass moment” for the industry: artificial intelligence is now capable of discovering—and even chaining together—software vulnerabilities at a speed that outpaces traditional defenses. At the same time, a new framework from the Cloud Security Alliance warns of an “AI vulnerability storm,” where the number of exploitable flaws could surge beyond what companies can realistically manage. For Michigan—home to global manufacturing, healthcare systems, and a growing tech sector—that shift could have far-reaching implications. You can get a Free demo of Richard Stiennon’s Cybersecurity Dashboard that lists more than 4,000 cybersecurity vendors and more than 12,000 products. If you purchase a seat, use code 919 to receive a discount from MITechNews.Com AI System Built for Scarcity—Now Facing Abundance For decades, cybersecurity has operated under a basic assumption: vulnerabilities were relatively limited, and the challenge was finding and fixing them before attackers did. AI is flipping that model. New AI systems are now capable of rapidly identifying thousands of previously unknown software flaws—often referred to as “zero-day vulnerabilities”—and, more concerning, linking them together into complex attack paths. “That changes everything,” Stiennon said. “We’re moving from a world where vulnerabilities were scarce to one where they are abundant.” That shift creates a dangerous imbalance. Security teams are already stretched thin. If AI accelerates vulnerability discovery faster than companies can patch systems, the backlog could grow exponentially—creating persistent exposure across networks. Why Michigan Is Especially Exposed Michigan’s economy makes it particularly vulnerable to this next phase of cyber risk. The state’s automotive and manufacturing