July 11, 2024

GuLoader: Evolving Tactics in Latest Campaign Targeting European Industry

Cado Security Labs identified a GuLoader campaign targeting European industrial companies via spearphishing emails with compressed batch files. This malware uses obfuscated PowerShell scripts and shellcode with anti-debugging techniques to establish persistence and inject into legitimate processes, to deliver Remote Access Trojans. GuLoader's ongoing evolution highlights the need for robust security.

Written by

Tara Gould

Malware Research Lead

Inside the SOC

Darktrace cyber analysts are world-class experts in threat intelligence, threat hunting and incident response, and provide 24/7 SOC support to thousands of Darktrace customers around the globe. Inside the SOC is exclusively authored by these experts, providing analysis of cyber incidents and threat trends, based on real-world experience in the field.

Written by

Tara Gould

Malware Research Lead

Jul 2024

Introduction: GuLoader

Researchers from Cado Security Labs (now part of Darktrace) recently discovered a campaign targeting European industrial and engineering companies. GuLoader is an evasive shellcode downloader used to deliver Remote Access Trojans (RAT) that has been used by threat actors since 2019 and continues to advance. 

Initial access

Cado identified a number of spearphishing emails sent to electronic manufacturing, engineering and industrial companies in European countries including Romania, Poland, Germany and Kazakhstan. The emails typically include order inquiries and contain an archive file attachment (iso, 7z, gzip, rar). The emails are sent from various email addresses including from fake companies and compromised accounts. The emails typically hijack an existing email thread or request information about an order. 

PowerShell  

The first stage of GuLoader is a batch file that is compressed in the archive from the email attachment. As shown in Image 2, the batch file contains an obfuscated PowerShell script, which is done to evade detection.

The obfuscated script contains strings that are deobfuscated through a function “Boendes” (in this sample) that contains a for loop that takes every fifth character, with the rest of the characters being junk. After deobfuscating, the functionality of the script is clearer. These values can be retrieved by debugging the script, however deobfuscating with Script 1 in the Scripts section, makes it easier to read for static analysis.

Deobfuscated Powershell — Figure 3 - Deobfuscated PowerShell

This Powershell script contains the function “Aromastofs” that is used to invoke the provided expressions. A secondary file is downloaded from careerfinder[.]ro and saved as “Knighting.Pro” in the user’s AppData/Roaming folder. The content retrieved from “Kighting.Pro” is decoded from Base64, converted to ASCII and selected from position 324537, with the length 29555. This is stored as “$Nongalactic” and contains more Powershell. 

Second Powershell script — Figure 4 - Second PowerShell script

Deobfuscated Secondary Powershell — Figure 5 - Deobfuscated Secondary PowerShell

As seen in Image 5, the secondary PowerShell is obfuscated in the same manner as before with the function “Boendes”. The script begins with checking which PowerShell is being used 32 or 64 bit. If 64 bit is in use, a 32 bit PowerShell process is spawned to execute the script, and to enable 32 bit processes later in the chain. 

The function named “Brevsprkkernes” is a secondary obfuscation function. The function takes the obfuscated hex string, converts to a byte array, applies XOR with a key of 173 and converts to ASCII. This obfuscation is used to evade detection and analysis more difficult. Again, these values can be retrieved with debugging; however for readability, using Script 2 in the Scripts section makes it easier to read. 

Deobfuscated PowersShell Strings — Figure 7 - Deobfuscated PowerShell Strings

Figure 8: Deobfuscated Process Injection

The second PowerShell script contains functionality to allocate memory via VirtualAlloc and to execute shellcode. VirtualAlloc is a native Windows API function that allows programs to allocate, reserve, or commit memory in a specified process. Threat actors commonly use VirtualAlloc to allocate memory for malicious code execution, making it harder for security solutions to detect or prevent code injection. The variable “$Bakteriekulturs” contains the bytes that were stored in “AppData/Roaming/Knighting.Pro” and converted from Base64 in the first part of the PowerShell Script. Marshall::Copy is used to copy the first 657 bytes of that file, which is the first shellcode. Marshall.Copy is a method that enables the transfer of data between unmanaged memory and managed arrays, allowing data exchange between managed and unmanaged code. Marshal.Copy is typically abused to inject or manipulate malicious payloads in memory, bypassing traditional detection by directly accessing and modifying memory regions used by applications. Marshall::Copy is used again to copy bytes 657 to 323880 as a second shellcode. 

The first shellcode includes multiple anti-debugging techniques that make static and dynamic analysis difficult. There have been multiple evolutions of GuLoader’s evasive techniques that have been documented [1]. The main functionality of the first shellcode is to load and decrypt the second shellcode. The second shellcode adds the original PowerShell script as a Registry Key “Mannas” in HKCU/Software/Procentagiveless for persistence, with the path to PowerShell 32 bit executable stored as “Frenetic” in HKCU\Environment; however, these values change per sample. 

Figure 10 - Registry Key created for PowerShell Script

PowerShell bit added to Registry — Figure 11 - PowerShell 32 bit added to Registry

The second shellcode is injected into the legitimate “msiexec.exe” process and appears to be reaching out to a domain to retrieve an additional payload, however at the time of analysis this request returns a 404. Based on previous research of GuLoader, the final payload is usually a RAT including Remcos, NetWire, and AgentTesla.[2]

Figure 12  - msiexec abused to retrieve additional payload

Key Takeaway

Guloader malware continues to adapt its techniques to evade detection to deliver RATs. Threat actors are continually targeting specific industries in certain countries. Its resilience highlights the need for proactive security measures. To counter Guloader and other threats, organizations must stay vigilant and employ a robust security plan.

Scripts

Script 1 to deobfuscate junk characters 

import re 
import argparse 
import os 
 
def deobfuscate_powershell(input_file, output_file): 
  try: 
      with open(input_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f: 
          text = f.read() 
 
      function_name_match = re.search(r"function\s+(\w+)\s*\(", text) 
      if not function_name_match: 
          print("Could not find the obfuscation function name in the file.") 
          return 
      
      function_name = function_name_match.group(1) 
      print(f"Detected obfuscation function name: {function_name}") 
 
      obfuscated_pattern = rf"(?<={function_name} ')(.*?)(?=')" 
      matches = re.findall(obfuscated_pattern, text) 
 
      for match in matches: 
          deobfuscated = match[4::5] 
          full_obfuscated_call = f"{function_name} '{match}'" 
          text = text.replace(full_obfuscated_call, deobfuscated) 
 
      with open(output_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f: 
          f.write(text) 
 
      print(f"Deobfuscation complete. Output saved to {output_file}") 
 
  except Exception as e: 
      print(f"An error occurred!: {e}") 
 
if __name__ == "__main__": 
  parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Deobfuscate an obfuscated PowerShell file.") 
  parser.add_argument("input_file", help="Path to the obfuscated PowerShell file.") 
  parser.add_argument("output_file", nargs='?', help="Path to save the deobfuscated file. Default is 'deobfuscated_powershell.ps1' in the same directory.", default=None) 
 
  args = parser.parse_args() 
 
  if args.output_file is None: 
      output_file = os.path.splitext(args.input_file)[0] + "_deobfuscated.ps1" 
  else: 
      output_file = args.output_file 
 
  deobfuscate_powershell(args.input_file, output_file)

Script 2 to deobfuscate hex strings obfuscation (note this will need values changed based on sample)

import re 
import argparse 
 
def brevsprkkernes(spackle): 
  if not all(c in '0123456789abcdefABCDEF' for c in spackle): 
      return f"Invalid hex: {spackle}" 
  
  paronomasian = 2 
  polyurethane = bytearray(len(spackle) // 2) 
 
  for forstyrrets in range(0, len(spackle), paronomasian): 
      try: 
          polyurethane[forstyrrets // 2] = int(spackle[forstyrrets:forstyrrets + 2], 16) 
          polyurethane[forstyrrets // paronomasian] ^= 173 
      except ValueError: 
          return f"Error processing hex: {spackle}" 
 
  return polyurethane.decode('ascii', errors='ignore') 
 
def process_file(input_file, output_file): 
  with open(input_file, 'r') as infile: 
      content = infile.read() 
 
  def replace_function(match): 
      hex_string = match.group(1).strip() 
      result = brevsprkkernes(hex_string) 
      return f"Brevsprkkernes '{result}'" 
 
  updated_content = re.sub(r"Brevsprkkernes\s*['\"]?([0-9A-Fa-f]+)['\"]?", replace_function, content) 
 
  with open(output_file, 'w') as outfile: 
      outfile.write(updated_content) 
 
if __name__ == "__main__": 
  parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Process a PowerShell file and replace hex strings.") 
  parser.add_argument("input_file", help="Path to the input file.") 
  parser.add_argument("output_file", help="Path to save the deobufuscated file.") 
  
  args = parser.parse_args() 
 
  process_file(args.input_file, args.output_file)

Indicators of compromise (IoCs)

GuLoader scripts

ZW_PCCE-010023024001.bat 36a9a24404963678edab15248ca95a4065bdc6a84e32fcb7a2387c3198641374

ORDER_1ST.bat 26500af5772702324f07c58b04ff703958e7e0b57493276ba91c8fa87b7794ff

IMG465244247443 GULF ORDER Opmagasinering.cmd 40b46bae5cca53c55f7b7f941b0a02aeb5ef5150d9eff7258c48f92de5435216

EXSP 5634 HISP9005 ST MSDS DOKUME74247linierelet.bat e0d9ebe414aca4f6d28b0f1631a969f9190b6fb2cf5599b99ccfc6b7916ed8b3

LTEXSP 5634 HISP9005 ST MSDS DOKUME74247liniereletbrunkagerne.bat 4c697bdcbe64036ba8a79e587462960e856a37e3b8c94f9b3e7875aeb2f91959

Quotation_final_buy_order_list_2024_po_nos_ART125673211020240000000000024.bat661f5870a5d8675719b95f123fa27c46bfcedd45001ce3479a9252b653940540

MEC20241022001.bat 33ed102236533c8b01a224bd5ffb220cecc32900285d2984d4e41803f1b2b58d

nMEC20241022001.iso 9617fa7894af55085e09a06b1b91488af37b8159b22616dfd5c74e6b9a081739

Gescanneerde lijst met artikelen nr. 654398.bat f5feabf1c367774dc162c3e29b88bf32e48b997a318e8dd03a081d7bfe6d3eb5

DHL_Shipping_Invoices_Awb_BL_000000000102220242247820020031808174Global180030010222024.cmd f78319fcb16312d69c6d2e42689254dff3cb875315f7b2111f5c3d2b4947ab50

Order Confirmation.bat 949cdd89ed5fb2da03c53b0e724a4d97c898c62995e03c48cbd8456502e39e57

SKM_0001810-01-2024-GL-3762.bat 9493ad437ea4b55629ee0a8d18141977c2632de42349a995730112727549f40e

21102024_0029_18102024_SKM_0001810-01-2024-GL-3762.iso 535dd8d9554487f66050e2f751c9f9681dadae795120bb33c3db9f71aafb472c

\Device\CdRom1\MARSS-FILTRY_ZW015010024.BAT e5ebe4d8925853fc1f233a5a6f7aa29fd8a7fa3a8ad27471c7d525a70f4461b6

Myologist.cmd 51244e77587847280079e7db8cfdff143a16772fb465285b9098558b266c6b3f

SKU_0001710-1-2024-SX-3762.bat 643cd5ba1ac50f5aa2a4c852b902152ffc61916dc39bd162f20283a0ecef39fe

Stamcafeernes.cmd 54b8b9c01ce6f58eb6314c67f3acb32d7c3c96e70c10b9d35effabb7e227952e

C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\j4phhdbc.lti\Bank details Form.bat c1f810194395ff53044e3ef87829f6dff63a283c568be4a83088483b6c043ec8

SKGCRO COMANDA FAB SRL M60_647746748846748347474.bat 8dd5fd174ee703a43ab5084fdaba84d074152e46b84d588bf63f9d5cd2f673d1

DHL_Shipping_Invoices_Awb_BL_000000000101620242247820020031808174Global180030010162024.bat bde5f995304e327d522291bf9886c987223a51a299b80ab62229fcc5e9d09f62

Ciwies.cmd b1be65efa06eb610ae0426ba7ac7f534dcb3090cd763dc8642ca0ede7a339ce7

Zamówienie Agotech Begyndelsesord.cmd 18c0a772f0142bc8e5fb0c8931c0ba4c9e680ff97d7ceb8c496f68dea376f9da

SKM_0001810-01-2024-GL-3762.iso 4a4c0918bdacd60e792a814ddacc5dc7edb83644268611313cb9b453991ac628

C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\Stemmeslugerens.bat 8bedbdaa09eefac7845278d83a08b17249913e484575be3a9c61cf6c70837fd2

Agotech Zamówienie Fjeldkammes325545235562377.bat ff6c4c8d899df66b551c84124e73c1f3ffa04a4d348940f983cf73b2709895d3

Agotech Zamówienie Fjeldkammes3255452355623.bat f3e046a7769b9c977053dd32ebc1b0e1bbfe3c61789d2b8d54e51083c3d0bed5

SKU_0001710-1-2024-SX-3762.iso 0546b035a94953d33a5c6d04bdc9521b49b2a98a51d38481b1f35667f5449326

SKU_0001710-1-2024-SX-3762.bat 4f1b5d4bb6d0a7227948fb7ebb7765f3eb4b26288b52356453b74ea530111520

DOKUMENTEN_TOBIAS.bat 038113f802ef095d8036e86e5c6b2cb8bc1529e18f34828bcf5f99b4cc012d6a

IMEG238668289485293885823085802835025Urfjeld.bat 6977043d30d8c1c5024669115590b8fd154905e01ab1f2832b2408d1dc811164

SKM_C250i24100408500.iso 6370cbcb1ac3941321f93dd0939d5daba0658fb8c85c732a6022cc0ec8f0f082

SKU_0001710-1-2024-SX-3762.iso 7f06382b781a8ba0d3f46614f8463f8857f0ade67e0f77606b8d918909ad37c2

\Device\CdRom1\ORDINE ELECTRICAS BC CORP PO EDC0969388.BAT e98fa3828fa02209415640c41194875c1496bc6f0ca15902479b012243d37c47

Quote Request #2359 Bogota.msg 0f0dfe8c5085924e5ab722fa01ea182569872532a6162547a2e87a1d2780f902

ORDER.1ST.bat 48dca5f3a12d3952531b05b556c30accafbf9a3c6cda3ec517e4700d5845ab61

Fortryl105.cmd f43b78e4dc3cba2ee9c6f0f764f97841c43419059691d670ca930ce84fb7143b

SMX-0002607-1-2024-UP-3762.iso a60dbbe88a1c4857f009a3c06a2641332d41dfd89726dd5f2c6e500f7b25b751

Quotation_final_buy_order_list_2024_po_nos_ART1256731610202400000000000.cmd efd80337104f2acde5c8f3820549110ad40f1aa9b494da9a356938103bda82e7

a60dbbe88a1c4857f009a3c06a2641332d41dfd89726dd5f2c6e500f7b25b751.iso 0327db7b754a16a7ae29265e7d8daed7a1caa4920d5151d779e96cd1536f2fbe

MARSS-FILTRY_ZW015010024.iso c415127bde80302a851240a169fff0592e864d2f93e9a21c7fd775fdb4788145

SKM_C250i24100408500.bat 36c464519a4cce8d0fcdb22a8974923fd51d915075eba9e62ade54a9c396844d

UPM-0002607-1-2024-UP-3762.iso e9fc754844df1a7196a001ac3dfbcf28b80397a718a3ceb8d397378a6375ff62

Comanda KOMARON TRADE SRL 435635Lukketid.bat 1bf09bcb5bfa440fc6ce5c1d3f310fb274737248bf9acdd28bea98c9163a745a

311861751714730477170144.bat f87448d722e160584e40feaad0769e170056a21588679094f7d58879cdb23623

Estimate_buy_product_purchase_order_import_list_10_10_2024_000000101024.cmd f20670ed0cdc2d9a2a75884548e6e6a3857bbf66cfbfb4afe04a3354da9067c9

PAYMENT TERM.bat 4c90504c86f1e77b0a75a1c7408adf1144f2a0e3661c20f2bf28d168e3408429

Arbitrre.cmd 8ef4cb5ad7d5053c031690b9d04d64ba5d0d90f7bf8ba5e74cb169b5388e92c5

KZЗапрос продукта SKM_32532667622352352Arvehygiejnikernes.bat 4ddd3369a51621b0009b6d993126fcb74b52e72f8cacd71fcbc401cda03108cb

Order_AP568.bat fda4e04894089be87f520144d8a6141074d63d33b29beb28fd042b0ecc06fbbc

C:\Users\user\Documents\ConnectWiseControl\Temp\Blodprocenternes.cmd e5f5d9855be34b44ad4c9b1c5722d1a6dff2f4a6878a874df1209d813aea7094

Productivenesses.cmd a7268e906b86f7c1bb926278bf88811cb12189de0db42616e5bbb3dc426a4ef5

Doktriner.cmd 74d468acd0493a6c5d72387c8e225cc0243ae1a331cd1e2d38f75ed8812347dd

final_buy_product_purchase_order_import_list_11_10_2024_000000111024.cmd a2127d63bc0204c17d4657e5ae6930cab6ab33ae3e65b82e285a8757f39c4da9

ORDER_U769.bat b45d9b5dbe09b2ca45d66432925842b0f698c9d269d3c7b5148cc26bdc2a92d0

Beschwerde-Rechtsanwalt.bat 229c4ce294708561801b16eed5a155c8cfe8c965ea99ac3cfb4717a35a1492f3

upit nr5634 10_08_2024.cmd 5854d9536371389fb0f1152ebc1479266d36ec4e06b174619502a6db1b593d71

C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\Doktriner.cmd 140dcb39308d044e3e90610c65a08e0abc6a3ac22f0c9797971f0c652bb29add

Fedtsyresammenstning.cmd 0b1c44b202ede2e731b2d9ee64c2ce333764fbff17273af831576a09fc9debfa

HENIKENPLANT PROJECT PROPOSAL BID_24-0976·pdf.cmd 31a72d94b14bf63b07d66d023ced28092b9253c92b6e68397469d092c2ffb4a6

MAIN ORDER.bat 85d1877ceda7c04125ca6383228ee158062301ae2b4e4a4a698ef8ed94165c7c

Narudzba ACH0036173.bat 8d7324d66484383eba389bc2a8a6d4e9c4cb68bfec45d887b7766573a306af68

Sludger.cmd 45b7b8772d9fe59d7df359468e3510df1c914af41bd122eeb5a408d045399a14

Glasmester.bat b0e69f895f7b0bc859df7536d78c2983d7ed0ac1d66c243f44793e57d346049d

PERMINTAAN ANGGARAN (Universitas IPB) ID177888·pdf.cmd 09a3bb4be0a502684bd37135a9e2cbaa3ea0140a208af680f7019811b37d28d6

C:\Users\user\Documents\ConnectWiseControl\Temp\Bidcock.cmd 0996e7b37e8b41ff0799996dd96b5a72e8237d746c81e02278d84aa4e7e8534e

PO++380.101483.bat a9af33c8a9050ee6d9fe8ce79d734d7f28ebf36f31ad8ee109f9e3f992a8d110

Network IOCs

91[.]109.20.161

137[.]184.191.215

185[.]248.196.6

hxxps://filedn[.]com/lK8iuOs2ybqy4Dz6sat9kSz/Frihandelsaftalen40.fla

hxxps://careerfinder[.]ro/vn/Traurigheder[.]sea

hxxp://inversionesevza[.]com/wp-includes/blocks_/Dekupere.pcz

hxxps://rareseeds[.]zendesk[.]com/attachments/token/G9SQnykXWFAnrmBcy8MzhciEs/?name=PO++380.101483.bat

Detection

Yara rule

rule GuLoader_Obfuscated_Powershell 
{ 
   meta: 
       description = "Detects Obfuscated GuLoader Powershell Scripts" 
       author = "[email protected]" 
       date = "2024-10-14" 
   strings: 
      $hidden_window = { 7374617274202f6d696e20706f7765727368656c6c2e657865202d77696e646f777374796c652068696464656e2022 } 
      $for_loop = /for\s*\(\s*\$[a-zA-Z0-9_]+\s*=\s*\d+;\s*\$[a-zA-Z0-9_]+\s*-lt\s*\$[a-zA-Z0-9_]+\s*;\s*\$[a-zA-Z0-9_]+\s*\+=\s*\d+\s*\)/ 
   condition: 
      $for_loop and $hidden_window

MITRE ATT&CK

T1566.001 Phishing: Malicious Attachment

T1055 Process Injection

T1204.002 User Execution: Malicious File

T1547.001 Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder

T1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information

T1622 Debugger Evasion

T1001.001 Junk Code

T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer

T1059.001 Command and Scripting Interpreter: Powershell

T1497.003  Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion: Time Based Evasion

T1071.001 Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols

References:

[1] https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/blog/guloader-dissection-reveals-new-anti-analysis-techniques-and-code-injection-redundancy/

[2] https://www.checkpoint.com/cyber-hub/threat-prevention/what-is-malware/guloader-malware/

‍

Written by

Tara Gould

Malware Research Lead

Inside the SOC

Written by

Tara Gould

Malware Research Lead

Malware Research Lead

Proactive Security

•

June 1, 2026

Watch the NIS2 Webinar

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Proactive Security

June 1, 2026

Defend What You Trust: Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Cyber Defense

Modern attacks don’t always announce themselves, follow obvious patterns, or rely on known malware. Often, they move quietly inside trusted systems, authenticated sessions, and everyday behavior.

They don’t break in. They blend in.

That’s why an AI-powered defense is essential. It turns invisible signals into actionable insights at a scale neither analysts nor traditional tools can achieve alone.

Confidence is creating risk

One of the most dangerous assumptions in cybersecurity today is that strong controls equal strong protection.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA), for example, is widely viewed as a foundational safeguard. But as the CISO for a professional sports organization explains, that confidence can be misplaced. “A lot of organizations assume that once you have MFA, those accounts are safe. That’s not true.”

In one instance, his team identified a sophisticated attack where a threat actor bypassed MFA entirely, not by breaking it, but by going around it. A user’s authenticated session was hijacked and re-used, allowing the attacker to impersonate them without triggering traditional controls.

“Darktrace picked up that a session had been re-injected by the hacker, and we were able to block it right away,” he explains.

Attackers anticipate what we miss

Even well-trained users can become entry points.

“An email bypassed our existing security tools,” shares the VP of IT at a U.S.-based risk management services provider. “The user missed one signal and entered their credentials into a malicious site. That’s what the bad guys count on.”

The organization responded quickly, but not before damage was done. Crucially, this occurred while Darktrace was in “watch mode,” before autonomous response was fully enabled. “Darktrace would have seen that and shut it down immediately,” he notes.

Mistakes and oversights like misconfigurations, forgotten machines, and missed patches can create serious vulnerabilities.

The CIO of a utility services organization shares an instance when Darktrace detected a breach to a client’s network via their ZTNA VPN due to misconfigured MFA. “Darktrace alerted us and autonomously blocked the scanning, preventing what could have been a ransomware-type incident.”

The most dangerous threats are already inside

The Head of Security at a global business services provider knows firsthand how blind spots can persist inside environments. His team uncovered evidence of dormant ransomware artifacts sitting unnoticed within a company’s environment ¬¬– long before modern detection was in place.

“During a routine file transfer, Darktrace flagged the suspicious activity, identified the ransomware, and immediately quarantined the server,” he recalls. While the attack was never executed, the implication was significant: the risk existed long before it was finally detected.

Cyber threats are also successful because they take advantage of normal human behavior, exploiting moments of cognitive overload, urgency, and trust.

The Executive Director of IT and Business Applications at a pharmaceutical lab describes the time Darktrace flagged an employee logging into Microsoft 365 from Singapore, despite him being physically located in the U.S. Darktrace immediately cut off his access and within minutes revealed that the employee’s son was using a VPN to play a video game.

While the threat was benign, it demonstrated the strength of AI to use contextual information to detect threats other tools miss. The information also saved security analysts hours of investigation and minimized downtime for the employee. “That level of precision and speed isn’t just convenient, it’s game changing.”

“Unusual” behavior is the new red flag

Detecting modern threats requires an understanding of what “normal” looks like and recognizing when something subtly deviates.

One security leader at an AI technology enterprise described a scenario in which an employee connected to a proxy service in China. The service itself was legitimate, and although traditional tools didn’t flag it, the behavior was unusual for that user specifically.

“That’s what Darktrace picked up on. The activity turned out to be benign, but without visibility into behavioral deviations, it could just as easily have been something more serious.”

AI shifts defense from reaction to anticipation

These stories point to a fundamental shift by cyber attackers, both tactically and strategically. Because traditional security tools were built to detect what’s already known, modern attacks are often:

Credential-based, not malware-based
Behavioral, not signature-based
Subtle, not overt

They may operate within the boundaries of what appears normal, exploiting what organizations trust, not what they block:

Trusted sessions
Legitimate services
Human error

This is where AI is changing the equation. Rather than relying on predefined rules or known threat signatures, AI can:

Establish a baseline of normal behavior
Detect subtle anomalies in real time
Act autonomously to contain potential threats

Resilience, not perfection, is the new security standard

As these frontline experiences show, the organizations that lead are those that move beyond reactive defense and embrace AI as a core part of their strategy.

It eliminates the blind spots and uncertainty, says the CISO of a professional sports organization. “If you lack visibility, you’re not managing risk, you’re assuming it. AI gives you the actionable insights needed to turn uncertainty into control.”

And it provides the speed and agility that are vital when seconds matter, says the Executive Director of IT and Business Applications. “When Darktrace alerted us at 3:00 am to a ransomware attack, it had already quarantined the affected systems, blocked the attacker’s access, and provided us with the critical details and time needed to investigate. That action likely saved us hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.”

The modern SOC has become a cornerstone of enterprise resilience, responsible for protecting data and operational continuity while enabling digital growth and innovation. For today’s security professional, that means success is no longer measured by what they keep out, but by what they protect: revenue, reputation, and trust.

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About the author

Blog

May 28, 2026

From Efficiency to Exposure: How AI Adoption Is Creating Unseen Vulnerabilities on the Factory Floor

How AI agents impact the manufacturing industry

Security teams and IT personnel across the manufacturing industry are under constant pressure to protect production, maintain uptime, and safeguard critical assets but the rise of AI is bringing huge new opportunities alongside new cyber risks. Across manufacturing, AI is embedded into workflows, decision-making, and increasingly, autonomous AI agents are acting on behalf of employees and systems.

Agentic systems are powerful because they can act independently, but that same autonomy also creates cyber and operational risk. Agents have extensive permissions and are capable of carrying out complex tasks, making decisions, and interacting with tools or external systems with little to no human intervention.

Unlike traditional AI models that perform predefined tasks, AI agents use advanced techniques to mimic human decision-making processes, dynamically adapting to new challenges, making decision and taking action based on their own judgement. They look like employees operationally but lack judgment, ethics, or fear of consequences like humans do. This means they can be easily manipulated by cybercriminals, and an AI agent embedded across an OT network creates threats that extend well beyond data exposure. For example, at BMW, AI identifies faults in welding processes as they occur. At its Spartanburg plant, AI monitors the weld of 300-400 metal studs onto every SUV frame to detect misplaced or faulty studs and correct them instantly. Corruption of BMW’s AI system could lead to catastrophic quality control errors.

Adopting agentic AI systems across manufacturing raises some concerns across security teams. New data from our State of AI Cybersecurity survey shows that 78% of manufacturing security professionals are worried about employee use of AI agents – their top concern. That’s followed by employee use of generative AI tools like CoPilot and ChatGPT, a worry for 76% of security professionals at manufacturing organizations. As these tools gain more access to business data and processes, and more autonomy within organizations, security teams, who today have minimal visibility of agent activity in their environments, increasingly have sensitive data exposure (a worry for 60%) and accidental policy and regulatory violations (59%) on their minds.

External AI-powered threats are evolving just as quickly

The same capabilities transforming manufacturing are also reshaping cyberattacks.

AI is enabling attackers to automate reconnaissance, refine targeting, and adapt in real time. What once required time and manual effort can now be executed continuously and at scale. Manufacturers are already seeing the impact. According to manufacturing security professionals we surveyed, 76% are already being impacted by AI-powered threats and 90% see AI increasing the success of social engineering attacks.

And the techniques themselves are evolving. Concerns across the manufacturing sector show growing anxiety about the range of AI-powered attack routes, most pressingly of adaptive malware that evolves in real-time – a prospect half (49%) of manufacturing security professionals we surveyed are worried by, a full 9% more than the average across industries. AI adaptive malware is followed by:

Automated vulnerability scanning and exploit chaining (48%) which has become even more pressing as Anthropic’s new Mythos AI Model supercharges vulnerability discovery

Hyper-personalized phishing campaigns (46%), which remain a mainstay in hackers’ arsenals, and AI has amplified their effectiveness by making phishing emails more convincing and harder to detect.

This is not just an increase in volume, it is a shift toward threats that evolve as they unfold - often faster than static defenses can respond.

Despite rising awareness, many manufacturers are not yet equipped to manage this shift. More than half (51%) say they are not adequately prepared for AI-driven threats, and only 37% have formal policies governing AI deployment.

Securing AI through visibility, context, and guardrails

Addressing this challenge does not require manufacturers to slow innovation. It requires a different approach to security, one that can operate at the same speed and scale as AI. Three specific priorities are emerging for manufacturers looking to take advantage of the power of AI.

Visibility is foundational.

Organizations need to understand where AI is being used, what it can access, and how it behaves across both IT and OT environments. Without that, risk cannot be measured or managed. It is no surprise that Darktrace’s research found that 91% of manufacturing security professionals said that they need to understand how AI makes decisions before trusting it. This is even more critical in operational settings where disruption has safety, environmental, financial, and reputational impacts.

Context is what turns visibility into action.

In environments shaped by AI, normal behavior is constantly shifting. Detecting threats requires a behavioral approach; understanding patterns of life across the organization and identifying subtle deviations in real time – a step change in organizations’ traditional approach to security and risk management.

Guardrails ensure that agency does not become exposure

As AI systems take on greater responsibility, organizations need clear boundaries around what they can do and when they can act independently. These controls must be embedded into systems themselves, not applied after the fact.

Securing AI Agents Across Manufacturing IT and OT

The rise of agentic AI is transforming manufacturing - powering next-generation operations while reshaping the security landscape. This is not just an increase in threats, but a shift to autonomous systems, continuously evolving behaviors, and risks moving at machine speed. For organizations trying to grapple with the challenge of enabling AI while managing the risk, visibility, context and guardrails should be foundational.

Darktrace helps manufacturers build secure AI approaches by making those foundations possible. It provides visibility and real-time detection and response to unusual activity across IT and OT environments and allows organizations to understand AI activity from the prompts employees use and the agents they build to how those agents are behaving across the environment. For manufacturers scaling AI, this delivers a foundation for innovation without sacrificing control.

About the author

Oakley Cox

Director of Product

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