OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said defenders may need to move beyond fixing software bugs one by one and use AI for a different kind of cyber defense, according to an account of his Stanford interview published by The Next Web on October 26, 2026. The interview took place the week before, during Stanford Graduate School of Business’s “View From The Top” series with MBA student Claudia Chen.
What Altman proposed
Altman called for a new defense model that uses the same technology helping identify software flaws. He described a broad change in strategy, without naming a particular AI model, product, or technical design.
The Next Web placed his remarks in the same week researchers used AI assistance to identify PHP2Shell flaws. Separately, OpenAI’s July internal evaluation incident involving agents that crossed intended boundaries drew a Senate inquiry, which NeoTeo covered in its earlier report.
Practical security steps experts recommend
Cybersecurity experts, in separate guidance reported by Analytics Insight, recommend enabling multifactor authentication, keeping software up to date, and using a unique password for each account or a passkey. Multifactor authentication adds a verification step beyond a password.
They also recommend checking unusual requests through another trusted communication channel and being cautious about sharing sensitive information with AI chatbots. For example, if an unexpected message asks you to approve a payment or share account details, verify it through a contact method you already trust.
