Phishing scams targeting business executives are reportedly on the rise thanks to AI.
Companies such as eBay and British insurance company Beazley are warning of an increase in fraudulent emails containing personal information, likely obtained through artificial intelligence (AI) analysis of online profiles, according to the Financial Times (FT ) newspaper reported on Thursday (January 2).
Kirsty Kelly, Beazley’s chief information security officer, told the FT: “Things are getting worse and more personal, so AI is behind a lot of it. I suspect that there is,” he said. “We’re starting to see very targeted attacks that collect huge amounts of information about individuals.”
According to the report, cybersecurity experts say such attacks are on the rise as AI becomes more sophisticated. AI bots can quickly consume large amounts of information about the style and tone of companies and individuals and recreate it to plan effective fraud.
It can also collect victims’ online and social media presence to find out which topics they are most likely to respond to, helping hackers create tailored phishing scams at scale. I will.
“The availability of generative AI tools lowers the threshold for entry into advanced cybercrime,” said Nadezhda Demidova, cybercrime security researcher at eBay. “We’ve seen an increase in the volume of cyberattacks of all types,” particularly “sophisticated and targeted” phishing scams, she added.
PYMNTS recently wrote that AI will help further expand the cyberattack landscape in 2024, part of a catalog of threats that includes ransomware, zero-day exploits, and supply chain attacks.
“This is an inherently adversarial game. Criminals want to make money, and the (business) community needs to rein in that activity. The difference now is that both sides have very good technology. Michael Shearer, Hawk’s chief solutions officer, said in an interview with PYMNTS.
PYMNTS notes that training and education remain a critical component of a robust cybersecurity strategy, as people are often the most vulnerable point in any system. Employees need to be regularly updated on the latest phishing tactics and cyber threats, but simulating real-world attack scenarios can increase preparedness and resilience.
While AI helps cybercriminals execute their plans, it can also help businesses strengthen their defenses.
According to a PYMNTS Intelligence report, “The AI MonitorEdge Report: COOs Leverage GenAI to Reduce Data Security Losses,” 55% of companies have adopted AI-powered cybersecurity measures.
The survey, conducted in August 2024, showed a significant increase from the 17% of chief operating officers who reported using AI-driven security tools in May.
