Cyber threat evolution has always been in lockstep with general tech developments, and things are no different with the advent of AI. The involvement of artificial intelligence has not only created brand new threats, but it has augmented and adapted existing ones to the modern digital landscape.
Small and medium-sized businesses face the greatest risk, doubly so if owners and decision-makers aren’t aware of the latest threats. Read on to rectify this and find out what practical steps you can take to stay safe.
AI-Powered Phishing
The modus operandi for AI-powered phishing remains the same — victims receive alarming or enticing messages along with links to harmful websites. There, they’re either asked to reveal their login credentials, exposed to malware, or tricked into transferring funds to attackers’ accounts.
However, the attacks have become more sophisticated and widespread. Phishing emails are now grammatically perfect and can be highly personalized. A phishing email might mention someone’s role, past projects, recent accomplishments, or other information available online to appear more credible. If attackers manage to acquire someone’s email credentials, they can flawlessly imitate their writing style or reference past interactions to cause even more harm.
The defense is twofold. On the one hand, tools like email filters and multi-factor authentication block suspected phishing emails and make account takeovers harder. On the other, training employees to recognize and report suspected AI phishing makes them far less susceptible to such attacks.
Deepfake Fraud
Generative AI has reached a point where it can convincingly impersonate someone over a video call in real-time. This might be a recruiter, a supplier, or even a colleague you have close ties with. Either way, the aim is always to request financial transactions, steal credentials, or gain unauthorized access to sensitive systems.
While detection tools exist, the rapid pace of deepfake development regularly outpaces them. The defense is as strong as potential victims’ ability to see through the deception. Employees who suspect AI involvement should ask the other party to communicate via different means or have them demonstrate their identity through specific questions only the real person would know the answers to.
Adaptive Malware
Traditionally, malware achieved its creators’ goals by following a fixed script. Today’s adaptive strains are much more sophisticated. They can scout and target high-priority systems and have the ability to lay dormant before striking.
Such malware can avoid detection and even change its attack patterns. All of this reduces the time defenders have to respond and creates a greater window of opportunity to extract information or do other harm.
Modern malware can be thwarted using a combination of AI-assisted threat detection and traditionally effective practices. The former excels at recognizing anomalous behavior and can contain malware even if it is unknown as of yet. The latter includes secure backups, network segmentation, and regular automatic updates.
AI-Assisted Credential Attacks
Leaked and reused passwords have always been a major vulnerability; AI is now making it easier to exploit them. Specifically, malicious AI tools allow attackers to identify instances of password reuse and can identify high-value yet vulnerable accounts worth targeting first. This results in higher account takeover success rates and can escalate into data extraction or privilege escalation.
The best password managers should be used for credential generation and storage, and passkeys should be implemented when possible. Moreover, access needs to be subject to roles and zero-trust policies.
Identity Fraud and Synthetic Insiders
Along with deepfakes, attackers are now generating synthetic identities. These non-existent persons have entire work and life histories, documents, appearances, and voices. Attackers use them to gain remote employment at organizations or pose as third parties like contractors.
Unlike most deepfake fraud, synthetic identities serve long-term goals. They may embed themselves into operations and carry out IP theft in the long term before being detected. Worse yet, they may engage in espionage on a national level.
This is a very recent development, so there are few specific countermeasures. Even so, companies can protect themselves by conducting more rigorous identity checks and tightening their hiring procedures. User access should be confined based on their role, and their behavior should be monitored for anomalies.
AI attacks are undoubtedly growing in sophistication, but companies also have an opportunity to employ the technology defensively. For example, AI agents can act as guardrails through systems monitoring, flagging unusual behavior, and escalating it to the attention of human cybersecurity experts.
Combining AI agents with regular training and security controls that have proven their long-term effectiveness ensures that even evolving AI threats can be detected and thwarted with a high degree of success.
