AI adoption brings new security headaches for already stretched CISOs
Proofpoint's 2026 Voice of the CISO report finds 79% of CISOs must manage AI-related risks without added resources or expertise.
Proofpoint's 2026 Voice of the CISO report says AI governance is expanding CISO responsibilities faster than resources, with 79% expected to manage AI-related risks without proportional support. Seventy-eight percent of CISOs consider GenAI a security risk, chiefly customer data loss through public AI platforms, and 61% expect a targeted attack within 12 months, down from 76% in 2025. Human risk remains the top vulnerability for 79% of respondents, and 93% of organizations with material data loss said departing employees played a role. Cloud account takeover now tops perceived threats, while email fraud, ransomware and malware declined in the rankings.
CISOs are feeling the security burden of accelerated AI use
Proofpoint's Voice of the CISO survey finds 85% of CISOs prioritizing AI security, with 80% managing AI risks without proportional resources.
Proofpoint's annual Voice of the CISO report, a Censuswide survey of 1,600 CISOs across 16 countries, found 85% rank securing AI assistants, copilots and automation among top priorities for the next two years. Eight in ten say they must manage AI-related security risk without a proportional increase in resources or expertise, and 78% now consider generative AI a major security risk, up 18% year over year. Board alignment improved to 85%, though nearly 80% still report excessive board pressure; 80% cite human behavior as the biggest cyber vulnerability.
4 groups caught using the same Chrome and Windows exploit kit
Proofpoint says at least four groups, some China-linked, actively share the BlueMoon kit chaining two Chromium and one Windows kernel exploit.
Proofpoint researchers report that at least four hacking groups, some with ties to the Chinese government, are actively using a nearly identical exploit kit named BlueMoon. The kit chains two Chromium browser vulnerabilities and one Windows kernel flaw affecting Windows 10, Windows 11 initial release, and a later Windows version to install malware of the attacker's choice. All three vulnerabilities received patches within the past 24 hours. Proofpoint attributes the kit's rapid, widely shared deployment to a Chromium patch-gap window and AI agents accelerating exploit development against publicly accessible upstream patches.
Hackers Chain Chrome and Windows Zero-Days in New BlueMoon Exploit Kit Attacks
Multiple espionage actors, mostly China-nexus, are chaining Chrome V8 and Windows kernel zero-days (CVE-2026-85046, CVE-2026-85880) via the BlueMoon exploit kit against government and defense targets.
Proofpoint identified a new exploit kit dubbed BlueMoon chaining a Chromium V8 type-confusion RCE (CVE-2026-85046), a V8 sandbox escape, and a Windows kernel LPE (CVE-2026-85880). At least four distinct threat clusters, most with suspected China nexus, adopted the kit within days starting with TA412 (Violet Typhoon/APT31) on August 28, 2026. Both Chrome-side flaws were patch-gap zero-days with roughly a four-week exploitation window; the Windows LPE only works on Windows 10 and Server 2019/2022. TA412 used spearphishing posing as university interns to deliver the GemStone browser backdoor disguised as a Google Gemini extension; other clusters delivered ShadowPad via DLL sideloading and a Rust loader against targets in aerospace, government, and finance.