Artificial intelligence makes mass phishing attacks more targeted.
The progress of artificial intelligence has played into the hands of criminals. They are becoming more and more successful in carrying out automated mass phishing attacks that are specifically tailored to the targeted companies.
Automated and targeted attacks are becoming the norm
In March 2023, the European police organization Europol released a report stating that models like ChatGPT by OpenAI have made it possible to impersonate an organization or individual in a very realistic manner, even with only basic knowledge of the English language. In the same month, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre stated in a blog post that there's a risk criminals could use Large Language Models to initiate cyberattacks that exceed their current capabilities.
Thus, cybercriminals are increasingly turning to AI to target and improve their attacks. AI enables them to carry out customized mass phishing attacks that are specifically tailored to their targets. This not only significantly increases efficiency on the attacker side, but also enables the cybercriminals, some of whom are well organized, to automatically create fake login pages that are almost indistinguishable from the real ones.
It also involves automating the collection of data about the attacked company, creating a comprehensive profile that is then used to further customize attacks. This increasing use of AI by attackers underscores the urgent need for organizations to constantly update and reinforce their cybersecurity strategies.
How AI supports cyberattack methods
AI enables targeted phishing attacks tailored to the online activities and preferences of the target, which increases the success rate.
AI tools quickly analyze large amounts of data, identify patterns, and improve the effectiveness of phishing attacks.
AI generates deceivingly real fake login pages in real time to fool even tech-savvy users.
AI automatically collects data about companies to develop specific attack strategies or identify security vulnerabilities.
AI-based method to deceptively fake voices and faces in video streams or conferences.
AI can develop data obfuscation methods and, using a modular system, help implement various use cases such as encryption, remote control, data exfiltration and more.
Attack weapon and smart shield at the same time
AI is not only being used to refine cyberattack methods; it is also being used to make the attacks harder to detect. However, the good news is that AI is also causing the other side to develop increasingly sophisticated defenses. Furthermore, without AI and the associated automations, it is nearly impossible to even manage and control the wide range of potential risks today. And if you take a closer look at the manufacturers of SIEM (System Information and Event Management) and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) systems, this is exactly what is happening: Increasingly, they use AI technology in their own products with the help of ML (machine learning).
The efficiency of such intelligent solutions is illustrated in IBM's Total Cost of Data Breach Report: From 2020 to 2022, the use of AI and automation has increased by almost one-fifth to 70%. Companies using AI and automation in the area of cybersecurity save an average of 3.05 million US dollars and 74 days on resolving security breaches compared to companies without such technologies.
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