Banks Prepare for 'Financial Apocalypse' Due to AI Attacks
Major American banks are developing plans for a catastrophic scenario after attacks using AI. A CrowdStrike report records an 89% increase in attacks employing AI.
On October 30, 2026, it became known that major American banks have begun preparing 'next-day plans' — contingency plans for a theoretical catastrophe caused by the actions of malicious AI agents (autonomous programs capable of performing tasks without human involvement). This is reported by Charisma Magazine Online, citing the CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report. According to the report, based on an analysis of threat activity in 2025, the number of attacks from adversaries with AI capabilities increased by 89%.
Previously, alarming statements about a possible 'AI apocalypse' came mainly from individual tech billionaires. Now, concern is also being expressed by banks, whose policies determine the movement of capital worldwide. They are forced to prepare for a scenario in which malicious actors use powerful AI models to hack banks around the world, which could lead to a 'financial doomsday.' The source notes that as the power and complexity of AI models grow, attacks on the financial system will only intensify.
In practice, this means that the financial system, deeply dependent on the internet, could face a situation where all money disappears from accounts — both for an individual client and for an entire bank. Banks are already forced to calculate how the economy will function if such a scenario suddenly materializes. For now, these are hypothetical nightmares, but market participants take them seriously enough to develop contingency plans.
It remains unknown which specific banks have already begun preparations and what exactly their 'next-day plans' consist of. There is also no data on how quickly, according to experts' estimates, such a scenario could occur and what protective measures are considered sufficient.