Cybersecurity stocks drop on Anthropic AI disruption fears

Cybersecurity stocks fell for a second day on Monday as investors worried about new AI security tools that threaten to displace the industry’s long-standing business models.

Anthropik debuted on Friday new security tool to the Claude model in a limited research preview. The AI ​​lab said the service can scan software code for vulnerabilities and recommend solutions. Anthropic is scheduled to host a corporate briefing featuring new product announcements on Tuesday.

CrowdStrike And Zscaler While each fell nearly 10% on Monday, Netskope And defensible fell by approximately 12%. Sailing Point down 9% okta fell more than 6 percent SentinelOne And Fortinet each lost more than 4%. Palo Alto Networks last fell 3% cloud flarewhich has benefited from the recent Moltbot enthusiasm, is down over 9%.

iShares Cybersecurity and Technology ETF fell about 5% and Global X Cybersecurity ETF It fell to its lowest level since November 2023.

In a post LinkedIn Over the weekend, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz defended his company’s moat in a world full of new AI offerings.

“AI innovation is inspiring,” he wrote. “But let’s stay real: A code-scanning AI capability does not replace the Falcon platform or your security program. Security requires an independent, battle-tested platform built to stop breaches.”

During an earnings call with analysts last week, Palo Alto CEO Nikesh Arora said he was “confused” why the market sees AI as a threat to cybersecurity and customers want more AI to scale their security stacks.

New AI tools that can quickly create websites and apps via prompts and text have shaken up the software industry in recent months. Software giant since the beginning of this year sales force has lost approximately one-third of its value and ServiceNow It dropped by over 34 percent. Microsoft It has lost approximately one-fifth of its value.

Cybersecurity is now feeling the pinch.

But some analysts have disputed fears that AI could automate some common cybersecurity tasks. Bank of America said the Anthropic tool only poses a significant threat to code scanning platforms such as: GitLab And JFrogThey fell 8% and 25% respectively on Friday.

“We think AI can improve efficiency in certain workflows, particularly code scanning, but it no longer has the visibility, control, or reliability to replace end-to-end security platforms,” the analysts wrote.

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