89% of banks report rise in AI-powered attacks as cybercriminals turn to machine-speed operations

The biggest threat facing financial institutions is no longer ransomware. Nor is it phishing.

According to TrendAI’s latest Modern Bank Heists 2026 research, banks are confronting something fundamentally different: cybercriminals that are increasingly using artificial intelligence to automate, accelerate, and coordinate attacks faster than security teams can respond. Nearly 89% of financial institutions surveyed reported an increase in AI-powered attacks over the past year, signaling that AI has become a force multiplier for adversaries rather than simply another tool in their arsenal.

The findings suggest that the financial sector has entered a new phase of cyber warfare where speed—not sophistication alone—has become the defining advantage.

Attackers Are Now Fighting the Defenders

One of the report’s most striking findings is that 67% of financial organizations experienced “Counter Incident Response” attacks—campaigns designed specifically to interfere with security teams while they investigate and contain an active breach.

Instead of quietly stealing data and disappearing, attackers are increasingly disabling security tools, manipulating logs, deleting forensic evidence, and disrupting response efforts to maximize operational chaos.

This marks a significant shift from traditional financial cybercrime toward campaigns that actively target defenders themselves.

APIs Have Become the New Front Door

The research also highlights the growing role of APIs in financial attacks.

More than 55% of respondents reported an increase in API-focused attacks, reflecting the expanding digital ecosystems banks now rely on for payments, open banking, embedded finance, and customer services.

Every API introduces another potential attack path. When combined with AI-driven reconnaissance and automation, attackers can discover and exploit exposed interfaces far faster than manual techniques ever allowed.

Market Intelligence Is Becoming a High-Value Target

Financial data is no longer the only prize.

According to the report, 46% of institutions observed attempts to steal non-public market information or proprietary investment strategies.

This points to an evolution beyond financial theft toward economic espionage, where adversaries seek competitive intelligence that can influence markets, trading positions, or investment decisions.

Destruction Is Replacing Persistence

Another notable trend is the increase in destructive attacks.

The study found 41% of financial institutions experienced attacks whose primary objective was destruction rather than financial gain.

Rather than maintaining long-term persistence, attackers are increasingly willing to erase systems, destroy evidence, or cripple operations once their objectives have been achieved.

The shift reflects a broader trend in modern cybercrime where disruption itself has become a strategic objective.

The Budget Gap Persists

Despite the rapidly evolving threat landscape, security investment is not keeping pace.

More than 54% of CIOs reported receiving no increase in cybersecurity budgets, even as AI-powered attacks become more frequent and more complex.

The disconnect highlights one of the industry’s biggest challenges: attackers can now scale operations using AI, while defenders often remain constrained by traditional staffing and funding models.

From Human-Speed Defense to Machine-Speed Security

The report ultimately argues that banks can no longer defend AI-enabled threats with workflows built for human-paced investigations. Security operations will increasingly require AI-assisted detection, automated incident response, continuous API monitoring, stronger identity protection, and greater operational resilience. Organizations must also assume that attackers will attempt to disrupt response teams during live incidents, making resilient security operations as important as preventive controls.

The “modern bank heist” is no longer about quietly breaching a vault.

It is about overwhelming an institution’s defenses before humans have time to react.

And in the age of AI, machine speed is rapidly becoming the defining advantage.