Warnings suggest that artificial intelligence (AI) could affect the workforce and take some jobs. AI is affecting the cybersecurity sector, which saw job postings fall 26.4% year over year from January to September 2026, reaching a four-year low of 235,786 postings – down from 320,201 during the same period in 2025, according to data from CyberSN research.
However, AI may not be taking on the role of cybersecurity; rather, total listings have returned to 2024 levels, down from an unusually strong hiring market last year. In addition, demand for specialized AI roles has increased.
According to the data, AI security engineer postings rose 268.3%, and cyber data scientist postings rose 203.5%.
Traditional Cybersecurity Job Decline
The CyberSN report noted several traditional cybersecurity roles that saw a significant downturn in postings, with January to September being the lowest in four years; at this pace, 2026 is on track to come in below every full year since 2023.
Among the positions impacted were: Cyber Insider Threat Analyst, which was down by 55.6% to 1,088 postings; Cyber Risk Analyst, down by 51.5% to 4,031 postings; Penetration Tester fell by 45.9% to 3,063 postings; Cybersecurity Lead was also down by 41.0% to 4,688 postings; Threat Hunter saw a decline of 40.0% to 1,013 postings; Cybersecurity Project Manager declined by 39.4% to 783 postings; and Chief Information Security Officer including CSO, BSO and ISO saw a overall decline of 38.9% to 2,832 postings.
The analysis evaluated work demand using CyberSN’s taxonomy across 45 functional roles rather than relying solely on job titles, which it noted are often inconsistent across companies.
At the same time, positions for some roles, notably chief information security officers (CISOs) and cybersecurity directors, have experienced notable dips from 2025. Yet CISO listings have seen a slight rebound, with a 19.5% increase between Q2 and Q3 2026, as corporate brands reevaluate accountability.
The CyberSN report noted that nearly 15% of job postings mention AI or machine learning in learning terms.
AI Jobs On the Rise
AI has grown in several areas. These included AI Research, which accounts for 32.7% of postings, up 11.7 points from last year; AI Offense at 23.3% of postings, up 4.8 points; AI Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), accounting for 19.8% of postings, up 2.1 points; and AI Planning, accounting for 18.9% of postings, up 0.6 points.
Demand for cybersecurity roles with AI experience is not unexpected, as systems built on Large Language Models (LLMs) and autonomous agents can introduce unique risks that traditional software security cannot handle. This includes hidden malicious instructions that can trick AI models into leaking sensitive data or handing over machine control. In addition, AI agents can be granted too much operational freedom, allowing them to autonomously delete files, execute unauthorized commands, or bypass human oversight.
Cybersecurity is Evolving, Not Going Away
The cybersecurity sector will likely continue to undergo a massive transformation, driven by AI. Adversaries are using the technology to scale phishing, craft increasingly hyper-realistic deepfakes, and automate vulnerability discovery. Defenders have been forced to rely on AI and machine learning for behavioral threat detection and real-time response.
“AI will no doubt displace a lot of tech jobs including those in cybersecurity,” explained Paul Bischoff, consumer privacy advocate at Comparitech.
“AI is good at penetration testing and threat analysis, for example,” Bischoff told ClearanceJobs. “Although the study is interesting, I would have liked to see more specific numbers that break down the experience required for these jobs. I suspect entry-level jobs saw a sharper decrease than the senior and executive roles.”
