Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a groundbreaking technology that can revolutionize various sectors and induce intense anxiety in the job market. And no wonder — its transformative impact on technology and operations offers immense possibilities for improving efficiency, accuracy and decision-making.

It also offers formidable opportunities to hackers. Far less concerned by the threat of losing their jobs, cybercriminals seem to have embraced the technology with enthusiasm — it’s like a long-awaited birthday treat. Welcome to the world of AI-enabled attacks where, temporarily at least, hackers seem to have the upper hand.

How AI Helps Criminals Craft Cyberattacks We’re Not Ready For

The various AI tools that have crept into our everyday lives (chatbots, content and video creation tools or automation, to name just a few) can enhance cyberattacks in many ways. In a recent communication, the FBI recognized that AI can be instrumental in every aspect of cybercriminal activity “from development to deployment.”

AI can help create more sophisticated and effective cyberattacks that are better targeted at exploiting system vulnerabilities. It can also be used to automate and scale attacks, enabling cybercriminals to simultaneously target a larger number of systems.

Here are some AI-enhanced cyberattacks that are no longer the stuff of science fiction.

AI-Powered Malware

With AI’s ability to learn from data and continuously refine its tactics, cybercriminals can create more sophisticated, elusive, and difficult-to-detect malware. For example, AI-powered malware can be trained to remain inactive until it detects a vulnerability, to learn and mimic how the uninfected system behaves to stay undetected or act when the camera is on to avoid security measures based on facial recognition.

AI-Driven Phishing and Spear-Phishing Attacks

AI-driven phishing attacks leverage AI technology to conduct highly targeted and convincing campaigns that are increasingly difficult to detect. AI can process thousands of social media threads to look for the right target. Once found, it can write personalized messages that mimic the writing style of trusted brands or influencers. “Traditional” spear phishing attempts take time and skill. AI can enable even more precise targeting at scale.

Deepfake Scams

Deepfake scams leverage AI technology to create convincing fraudulent media, such as videos or audio recordings, to deceive individuals and organizations for malicious purposes. These scams can involve impersonating high-ranking executives to trick employees into fraudulent transactions, fabricating video evidence for blackmail, or spreading disinformation through fake online personas.

Enabled by AI algorithms, deepfake scams produce authentic-looking content that closely imitates the targets’ appearance, behavior and speech patterns. In a recent example, criminals used deepfake technology to impersonate a CEO’s voice and convince an employee to transfer $243,000 to a fraudulent account.

As Threat Actors Become More Sophisticated, We Must Change How We Think About Data

Cybercriminals are getting smarter with AI. However, we, as their potential targets, keep feeding them with personal data and handing it to them on a silver platter.

The availability of our personal information online contributes to the rise of cybersecurity threats, including new AI threats. A recent study has revealed that 60% of crimes reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) were likely facilitated or made worse by criminals with access to people’s data.

It’s by leveraging personal information such as that contained in social media profiles, financial records and logs of online activities that cybercriminals can craft sophisticated phishing campaigns, create convincing fake identities and deploy AI-driven malware. The data we willingly share online inadvertently becomes fuel for AI-enabled cybersecurity threats.

Securing Your Data From Future Threats

The adoption of strategies for future-proofing data security should be high on the list of law-making agendas worldwide. Depending on where you live, data security and privacy laws may already be on the books.

Inevitably, AI-powered security and privacy systems are the answer to AI-powered threats. Many companies have recently introduced precisely that: AI-powered, cutting-edge security offerings. Monitoring, audits and awareness training are just as important. In addition to continuous advocacy for transparency in AI models, here are some key steps that can help deal with AI-enabled cybersecurity threats:

● Establish secure data policies: This involves encrypting sensitive data and setting up access control measures for confidential information.

● Conduct regular audits: Regular audits of data collection and storage practices can help identify potential security issues before they arise.

● Implement data anonymization: Data anonymization is an effective technique used to protect individual privacy when dealing with AI systems. Transforming or encrypting identifiable data into a format that cannot be traced back to specific individuals helps preserve privacy while enabling AI systems to learn from data patterns.

● Limit data access: Ensure that AI systems have access only to necessary data to mitigate privacy and security risks.

● Build specialized security teams: Considering the cybersecurity workforce gap, it is vital to invest in building technical security teams responsible for monitoring AI systems, identifying vulnerabilities and taking proactive measures.

Human Intelligence is Still our Most Potent Weapon

Machine learning models and generative AI have seen exponential growth in the recent months and years. They’ve got us, humans, all scared and excited. Yet they remain tools that are in our hands. Once set in motion, they can analyze and produce more than the human brain can, but they lack creativity and critical thinking.

Staying vigilant and up to date on the latest cybercrime innovations remains essential for keeping one step ahead of hackers, whether they are AI-enabled or not. Staying shy and smart about how we share our data is still the best preventive measure we can all take right now.