WASHINGTON, May 7. /TASS/. Cyberattacks using artificial intelligence (AI) could cause macroeconomic shocks in financial markets, according to a new study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"These features elevate cyber risk to a potential macro-financial shock," the IMF experts note. It focused on the risks to financial stability resulting from AI-enabled cyberattacks.

"Confidence effects, payment disruptions, liquidity strains, and fire-sale dynamics could follow if multiple institutions are affected simultaneously. For financial authorities, the question is whether the system is prepared to absorb cyber incidents without destabilizing core financial functions," the study says.

"Advanced AI models can dramatically reduce the time and cost needed to identify and exploit vulnerabilities, raising the likelihood of simultaneously discovering and targeting weaknesses in widely used systems," the IMF experts say.

The experts conclude that the risks are systemic. Attacks become more dangerous when discovery and exploitation scale rapidly, with implications for financial stability.

According to their findings, the effects could be felt "at a systemic level."

"Attackers have the advantage over defenders because discovering and exploiting vulnerabilities can occur faster than patching and remediation," the IMF experts say.