Cisco debuts Antares for detecting software vulnerabilities
AI compresses cyberattack timelines from weeks to days
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Cisco debuts Antares for detecting software vulnerabilities
isco has introduced Antares, a family of small language AI models
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( SLMs) purpose-built to tackle one of the most difficult and time-consuming challenges in cybersecurity: finding hidden security flaws within software codebases, on-premises, without externalizing organisations’ data.
As organisations race to secure their digital infrastructure, finding vulnerabilities quickly is critical. However, using general-purpose AI to scan code can be expensive and often requires sending sensitive, proprietary source code to the cloud, representing a major hurdle for organisations with strict privacy and compliance requirements.
To help address this, Cisco has introduced Antares. These models are compact, costeffective, and capable of running locally within an organisation’ s own secure environment.
“ As regional organisations accelerate their digital capabilities, securing complex software without compromising data privacy is critical and urgent,” said Fady Younes, Managing Director for Cybersecurity at Cisco Middle East, Türkiye, Africa, Caucasus and Central Asia( METAC).“ With Antares, we are giving security teams the power of AI locally so they can pinpoint vulnerabilities faster while keeping sensitive source code firmly within their own secure environment.”
Cisco is releasing two of these models( Antares- 350M and Antares-1B) entirely openly to the broader developer and security community. With the release of Antares, Cisco is moving beyond simply building models; it is helping create the ecosystem and standards needed for practical, trustworthy enterprise AI adoption.
AI compresses cyberattack timelines from weeks to days
ophos has released its AI Security 2026 Report, revealing that cybercriminals are using artificial intelligence to dramatically
S accelerate attacks by compressing workflows that once took weeks into just days. Rather than introducing entirely new attack techniques, AI is primarily increasing the speed and scale of existing tactics, with identity-based attacks emerging as the preferred route for gaining initial access.
“ Attackers still need initial access, still move laterally, and still exfiltrate through observable channels. What has changed is the clock,” said John Peterson, Chief Technology Officer at Sophos.“ For the first time we have observed AI being actively used as an operational force multiplier. While the tools and techniques were familiar, the speed of development, testing and iteration was materially different. That is the AI threat that security teams need to prepare against.”
The report highlights several emerging trends. AI is significantly reducing attack timelines and improving operational readiness for threat actors. Enterprise AI identities, OAuth tokens, AI agents, APIs and development tools are becoming increasingly attractive targets, while AI-assisted social engineering and deepfake technology are now being used in real-world attacks. Sophos also found cybercriminals integrating AI into underground marketplaces, malware development, prompt engineering, jailbreaking techniques and criminal-as-a-service offerings. In addition, AI development infrastructure and software supply chains are facing growing levels of attack.
John Peterson, Chief Technology Officer at Sophos
Among its most significant discoveries, Sophos identified a campaign known as STAC6994, providing one of the first verified examples of threat actors actively using AI to enhance and accelerate their cyber operations.
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