NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 5, 2026--
Hack The Box (HTB), the global leader in AI-powered cybersecurity readiness, today released findings from its AI-Augmented vs Human-Only Cybersecurity Performance Benchmark Report, which includes data from its NeuroGrid Capture The Flag (CTF) competition, the largest side-by-side benchmark of agentic AI and human performance on cybersecurity tasks to date.
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The results demonstrate that AI levels the playing field and accelerates performance, depending on the skills of the AI-augmented teams, which:
The benchmark analyzed performance data from 1,078 teams, including 120 agentic AI teams and 958 human teams, across 36 cybersecurity challenges spanning nine technical domains and four difficulty levels during a three-day competition.
“AI can raise the bar of cybersecurity performance, but it does not eliminate the need for human expertise,” said Haris Pylarinos, Founder and CEO of Hack The Box. “Our findings show measurable productivity gains, but also predictable failure patterns. Security leaders must build and test human-in-the-loop workflows that are proven under pressure, and develop the AI and cybersecurity skills needed to unlock benefits safely as models evolve.”
How AI Impacts Performance by Experience Level
The findings showed that AI requires a targeted workforce development strategy, as it impacts less-experienced to elite operators in fundamentally different ways. Results include:
“Routine and mid-level work is where enterprises will see immediate ROI,” said Gibb Witham, President of Hack The Box. “If organizations over-index on automating the tasks that build judgment, they risk trading long-term resilience for short-term efficiency. Agentic automation must be paired with deliberate human skill development. For enterprises, the competitive advantage will not come from AI adoption alone. It will come from training cybersecurity professionals to effectively orchestrate, validate, and govern AI-driven workflows and agents.”
The data reveals that AI’s strongest impact occurs in medium-complexity work (3.89x), the very layer where mid-level cybersecurity talent traditionally develops the judgment needed to become security practitioners. Medium-tier challenges showed the highest solve-rate ratios for AI-augmented teams. These are the problems that build experience and pattern recognition in developing analysts. If AI absorbs this layer without structured upskilling and deliberate exposure to increasingly complex scenarios, organizations risk hollowing out the very pipeline that produces future senior experts.
Human-AI Hybrid Models Win
The findings show how AI-augmented teams, often operating with human-in-the-loop, raised baseline performance across the field, yet the hardest and most novel challenges still demanded human judgment and verification. For CEOs and CISOs, the takeaway is clear: use AI to amplify human capability with oversight, not replace it.
Hack The Box will present a deeper analysis of its research at RSAC 2026 on March 26, 2026, in the Village showcase.
Learn more about the AI-Augmented vs Human-Only Cybersecurity Performance Benchmark Report and CISO briefing here.
About Hack The Box
Hack The Box is the leading cyber readiness platform for the agentic era, battle-testing and upskilling both humans and AI agents to enhance organizational cyber resilience. Trusted by the Fortune 500, government agencies, and MSSPs, the platform delivers threat-informed learning paths consisting of real-world scenarios in gamified labs and live-fire simulations that build and validate offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. With a loyal community of more than 4 million members and 800+ enterprise customers, Hack The Box empowers teams and intelligent systems alike to strengthen cyber defenses and reduce breach risk effectively. For more information, visit hackthebox.com.
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Hack The Box Benchmark Report Finds AI Boosts Cybersecurity Productivity 3-4x for AI-Augmented Elite Teams, but Cautions on a Talent Pipeline Risk
