--- title: "AI Seizes Top Spot on Leaderboard for White Hat Hackers" description: "For the first time ever, an AI model has seized the top spot on a white hat hacking leaderboard in the United States." date: "2025-07-04" modified: "2025-07-04" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/ai-hacking-leaderboard-number-one" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "bug bounty" - "cybersecurity" - "hackers" - "white hat hacker" --- # AI Seizes Top Spot on Leaderboard for White Hat Hackers ![For the first time ever, an AI model has seized the top spot on a white hat hacking leaderboard in the United States.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* For the first time ever, an AI model has seized the top spot on a white hat hacking leaderboard. In a [blog post](), the cybersecurity firm Xbow boasted about its historic rise to the top of the [HackerOne leaderboard](), which ranks the top ethical hackers in the US against each other as they duke it out in the name of cybersecurity. Xbow's use of AI for white hat hacking follows a [long tradition of automation]() on both sides of the ethics divide, culminating in a [majority of hackers using the technology](). Xbow claims its AI is "fully autonomous," operating with minimal human input, though of course that's a common claim that often turns out to be [more complicated in reality](). Xbow's AI is centered on what's known as "automated penetration testing," a method that simulates cyberattacks by exploiting vulnerabilities in a given system — a much faster version of the so-called "pentests" that human white hat hackers do on behalf of clients to probe their potential vulnerabilities. As company founder Oege de Moor [told *Bloomberg*](), such "manual" — read: human-conducted — tests cost about $18,000 on average and can take weeks to complete, often leading businesses to put off this [important security measure]() until it's too late. "By automating this," de Moor said, "we can completely change the equation." While it's clear that Xbow's process works, it's not without flaws. As [*PC Gamer* notes](), Xbow's tech is as [prone to hallucination]() as any other AI — but the company circumvents any harm, it says, by having humans vet each issue as it arises. Beyond winning the top hacker spot, the year-old startup has also [raised $117 million in seed funding]() to date from financiers including Sequoia Capital and the venture capital firm NFDG. Speaking to *Bloomberg*, NFDG partner Nat Friedman said that although Xbow's AI is "exciting," he also finds it "somewhat terrifying." "We are now in the era of machines hacking machines," Friedman said. **More on AIs with jobs:** [*Anthropic Let an AI Agent Run a Small Shop and the Result Was Unintentionally Hilarious*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()