Attackers can push a cyberattack to a critical stage in roughly 22 seconds when artificial intelligence is doing the driving, according to a department head quoted in the report. The figure describes how fast automated tooling can move from an initial foothold to serious damage. Machines probe and adapt faster than any human operator can respond. That pace leaves defenders almost no window to spot an intrusion before it turns serious. Manual log review and traditional alerting arrive too late against an attack that plays out in seconds. The official's message was that defensive systems need their own speed, meaning automated detection and response. No specific incident backs the figure in the short report, so it reads as a general warning to organizations.