Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has drawn an unusual comparison between AI-powered hacking agents and cockroaches, warning that they can keep finding ways into systems despite efforts to stop them.
Speaking at the Reuters Total Health event in Nashville, Cuban said AI could help businesses defend against automated cyberattacks.
Cuban used the example of a house being treated for cockroaches to explain how AI-powered attacks could work. Even after pest control measures, some cockroaches may still find a way inside, just as automated AI agents can repeatedly probe systems for weaknesses. “The one thing I don’t want is cockroaches in my house ever. His comments highlight how AI can help both hackers find system weaknesses and businesses detect threats and strengthen their defences. Cuban, widely known for his appearances on the business reality show Shark Tank and his former ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, has also built a business in healthcare.
Because there’s zillions of them,” Cuban said, according to Reuters. (Also Read: Google DeepMind employees resign over Pentagon AI deals, citing ethical concerns ) He argued that businesses could respond by using AI to strengthen their defences and identify threats at scale, but the cockroaches find a way to get in.
“It’s all brute force acts, and if it’s brute force on that side with the bad guys, you can also use brute force with the good guys,” he said.
It has since expanded into drug manufacturing. Cuban believes technology and new ways of manufacturing can help solve problems in cybersecurity and healthcare. He co-founded Cost Plus Drugs in 2022, an online pharmacy that aims to make medicines more affordable through a transparent pricing model. The company generally adds a 15% markup to the price it pays for medicines, alongside other applicable costs. In 2025, the company began producing sterile injectable medicines used in hospitals at its own manufacturing facility.
Cuban said Cost Plus Drugs was developing portable, tractor-trailer-sized manufacturing units called “pods”. These could operate separately or together to produce different medicines, including generic drugs and treatments for rare diseases. (Also Read: Westminster Abbey skeleton may belong to medieval abbot Ælfwig, archaeologist suggests ) He said the units could eventually allow medicines to be manufactured closer to where they are needed, including during disasters. However, the company still needs approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the pods, he said.
