Axios: AI attack surge drives security team burnout
Palo Alto Networks says demand for incident response rose by double digits in six weeks, with one probe now needing up to 20 staff.
Security teams are facing burnout as a wave of AI-assisted cyber attacks and vulnerability alerts strains incident response capacity, according to an Axios report published on October 30, 2026.
Troy Bettencourt, head of digital forensics and incident response at Palo Alto Networks, told Axios that demand for response services rose by double digits over the past six weeks. He said a single investigation that once took one person now requires 5 to 20 people.
Palo Alto Networks is moving staff from other projects onto incident response work to prepare for exploitation of a PHP vulnerability disclosed last week. Ivanti CISO Jack Nelson said he slept less than usual last week even though exposure to that vulnerability was limited.
Not every inbound alert translates into a confirmed threat. Samantha Lewis, threat intelligence lead at Amadin, said her team reviewed hundreds of attack codes over several days and found that many did not work.
Axios noted that during past surges in cyber attacks, such as the SolarWinds incident, response work differed from this year's continuous pile-up. Justin Timothy, a threat intelligence consultant at GuidePoint Security, was also cited in the reporting.
Quick answers
What did Axios report about security staff?
Axios reported that security staff are facing burnout as AI-assisted cyber attacks and vulnerability alerts flood in.
How much has demand for incident response grown?
Palo Alto Networks' Troy Bettencourt said demand for response services rose by double digits over the past six weeks.
Why is Palo Alto Networks shifting staff?
The company is moving staff from other projects to incident response to prepare for exploitation of a PHP vulnerability disclosed last week.