AI is taking tech jobs, but this unexpected sector is hiring like crazy

Over the past few years, the tech industry has seen widespread layoffs, with artificial intelligence increasingly becoming part of the explanation. Multiple companies, including Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle, have publicly cited AI adoption or AI-driven restructuring as a key reason behind workforce cuts. These layoffs have affected tens of thousands of employees globally. More recently, Meta reportedly laid off around 8,000 workers as part of AI-focused corporate restructuring. But amid all these cuts, one category of jobs appears to be booming.

According to a report by The New York Times, demand for cybersecurity experts has become so strong that recruiters are struggling to find enough people to fill open positions.

At first glance, the demand may seem surprising.

After all, advanced AI cybersecurity systems like Anthropic’s Claude Mythos can reportedly identify thousands of software vulnerabilities overnight. But experts increasingly believe that these powerful AI systems are actually one of the reasons cybersecurity hiring is accelerating.

Governments, regulators, banks and large corporations around the world are becoming increasingly concerned that advanced AI systems could expose weaknesses in critical infrastructure and software systems much faster than before. India’s largest banks, government departments and IT companies have quietly started stress-testing critical systems amid growing concerns around AI-powered cyber threats.

Many organisations now fear that tools like Mythos could dramatically accelerate cyberattacks by helping attackers discover vulnerabilities at unprecedented speed. As a result, companies are rushing to strengthen their cybersecurity teams before the threat landscape becomes even more dangerous.

AI tools can find bugs faster, but humans are still essential

While AI systems can help security researchers identify flaws more quickly, experts say human expertise is still critical. A cybersecurity startup called Calif, based in Palo Alto, reportedly used a preview version of Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model to build a working exploit against Apple’s new M5 chip protections in less than a week.

The company said Mythos played a major role during the process. However, researchers also noted that bypassing Apple’s new MIE protections still required significant human expertise because the protection system itself was entirely new.

In other words, AI may speed up cybersecurity work, but humans are still needed to understand complex systems, verify vulnerabilities and figure out how attacks actually work in the real world.

“Vibe coding” is creating even more security concerns

Another major reason for the growing demand in cybersecurity is the rise of so-called “vibe coding” — software development heavily assisted by AI coding tools. A recent report by Wired found that around 40 percent of apps created using AI-assisted coding software exposed sensitive information.

Researchers reportedly discovered leaked medical records, financial information, company presentations, strategy documents and even customer chatbot conversations inside some of these applications.

As more people build software quickly using AI tools, security experts fear many apps are being launched without proper testing or security reviews. That, in turn, is increasing the need for cybersecurity professionals who can identify weaknesses before attackers exploit them.

Some experts say AI is also being used as an excuse for layoffs

That does not mean job losses are slowing down. Layoffs continue across the tech industry, and AI is frequently mentioned as a reason for restructuring.

However, Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, has repeatedly criticised the current AI hype cycle on X. According to Vembu, the actual productivity gains from AI are still limited in many areas. He argues that some companies may be using AI as a convenient explanation for layoffs that are actually being driven by economic pressure and investor expectations.