Will AI replace Information Security Engineers?
AI reaches most of this job’s work.
61/100
Very high exposure
More exposed to AI than 94% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 3% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 95% of the work
What the job involves
Develop and oversee the implementation of information security procedures and policies. Build, maintain and upgrade security technology, such as firewalls, for the safe use of computer networks and the transmission and retrieval of information. Design and implement appropriate security controls to identify vulnerabilities and protect digital files and electronic infrastructures. Monitor and respond to computer security breaches, viruses, and intrusions, and perform forensic investigation. May oversee the assessment of information security systems.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(1)
- Oversee performance of risk assessment or execution of system tests to ensure the functioning of data processing activities or security measures.
Within reach(18)
- Coordinate monitoring of networks or systems for security breaches or intrusions.
- Identify security system weaknesses, using penetration tests.
- Scan networks, using vulnerability assessment tools to identify vulnerabilities.
- Conduct investigations of information security breaches to identify vulnerabilities and evaluate the damage.
- Assess the quality of security controls, using performance indicators.
and 13 more
Out of reach(1)
- Train staff on, and oversee the use of, information security standards, policies, and best practices.
Also called
Cloud Engineer · Security Engineer · Systems Engineer · Cyber Defense Incident Responder · Cybersecurity Engineer · BISO (Business Information Security Officer) · Engineer · Information Security Auditor
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics