Introduction to HTB AI Range
The cybersecurity training provider Hack The Box (HTB) has launched the HTB AI Range, designed to let organisations test autonomous AI security agents under realistic conditions, albeit with oversight from human cybersecurity professionals. Its goal is to help users assess how well AI, and mixed human–AI teams might defend infrastructure.
How HTB AI Range Works
HTB describes the AI Range as a simulation of enterprise complexity with thousands of offensive and defensive targets that are continuously updated. The platform supports mapping to established cyber frameworks, including MITRE ATT&CK, the NIST/NICE guidelines, and the Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) Top 10. In a recent AI vs. human capture the flag (CTF) exercise, autonomous AI agents solved 19 out of 20 basic challenges. However, in multi-step challenges in more complex environments, human teams outperformed the AI agents.
Limitations of AI in Cybersecurity
The company suggests AI struggles with complexity and multi-stage operations, and this points to the continuing value of human expertise, especially in high-stakes or complex work. This limitation highlights the need for a platform like HTB AI Range, where AI and human teams can work together to enhance cybersecurity.
Testing and Closing the Skills Gap
Enterprises can use the AI Range to validate whether existing security measures work under AI-powered attacks, give their cybersecurity teams experience of AI-powered threats, and develop more resilient cybersecurity tools based on agentic AI. Such exercises could be used to justify cybersecurity investment to financial decision-makers. HTB’s AI Range can be used for continuous testing and validation of cybersecurity defences, which the company states is more effective in the long-term than static audits or pen-testing exercises.
Future Developments
HTB is launching a AI Red Teamer Certification early next year in an attempt to quantify the skills necessary to harden AI defences. As AI matures and frameworks like MITRE ATLAS gain traction, tools like HTB’s AI Range may become standard components in enterprise security programmes.
Quotes from HTB Executives
“Hack The Box is where AI agents and humans learn to operate under real pressure together,” said Gerasimos Marketos, chief product officer at Hack The Box. “We’re addressing the urgent need to continuously validate AI systems in realistic operational contexts where stakes are high and human oversight remains vital. HTB AI Range makes that possible.” Haris Pylarinos, CEO and founder of Hack The Box said, “For over two years, we’ve been advancing AI-driven learning paths, labs, and research where machines and humans compete, collaborate, and co-evolve. With HTB AI Range, we’re not reacting to AI’s rise in cyber; we’re defining how defence evolves alongside it. This is how cybersecurity advances: not through fear, but through mastery.”
Conclusion
The HTB AI Range is a significant development in the field of cybersecurity, allowing organisations to test and validate their AI-powered security systems under realistic conditions. By providing a platform for human and AI teams to work together, HTB AI Range helps to identify the strengths and limitations of AI in cybersecurity, ultimately leading to more resilient and effective cybersecurity tools.
FAQs
- What is HTB AI Range?
HTB AI Range is a simulation platform designed to test autonomous AI security agents under realistic conditions. - What is the goal of HTB AI Range?
The goal of HTB AI Range is to help users assess how well AI, and mixed human–AI teams might defend infrastructure. - What are the limitations of AI in cybersecurity?
AI struggles with complexity and multi-stage operations, highlighting the need for human expertise in high-stakes or complex work. - What is the AI Red Teamer Certification?
The AI Red Teamer Certification is a certification program launched by HTB to quantify the skills necessary to harden AI defences.
