How AI is Revolutionizing Cyber Threats

anti-malware tools, Artificial Intelligence, cyber attacks, Ophtek, phishing training, , , ,
13
Aug 2024

Threat actors are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI technologies to launch cyberattacks against businesses.

Technology is always advancing, and AI represents the future of where technology is likely to head. AI is also a powerful force for good, with countless benefits on offer for society. But it’s also a technology which can be exploited by threat actors. The development of AI means more sophisticated attacks can be launched with more ease and cause more damage. Therefore, businesses need to be on their guard against these new attack methods.

Why is AI So Dangerous?

Creating malware and sending it out into the digital wild is a complex and time-consuming task for threat actors. AI and generative AI remove this obstacle by allowing threat actors to automate complex tasks and generate realistic content e.g. creating malware code automatically and writing realistic phishing emails without spelling mistakes. This means phishing emails, for example, have the potential to become much more engaging and dangerous.

Another area where AI can be subverted is within the realm of vulnerability detection. No longer do threat actors have to spend their time manually analyzing security systems to discover weaknesses. Instead, they can delegate this duty to AI tools which quickly and accurately scan data to highlight vulnerabilities e.g. checking for outdated operating systems and software. The threat actor will then know which vulnerabilities are available to target.

When it comes to generative AI, the potential for successful social engineering attacks is significantly enhanced. This is down to the emergence of deepfakes, a type of content which appears to be genuine but is 100% fake. Deepfakes can take the form of audio, video, and text content to deceive recipients into acting on any call-to-actions at the heart of the content. So, for example, a threat actor could generate a voice note which purports to be a senior executive requesting a password. Deepfakes are already disturbingly realistic, and their authenticity is only going to increase.

How Can You Stay Safe from AI?

The prospect of AI, in terms of cybersecurity attacks, is concerning, but it’s a threat which can be countered. For one thing, the very reasons why threat actors have adopted AI can also be adopted into your defenses. Anti-malware tools such as McAfee are now using AI technology to combat malicious AI-generated content. Additionally, threat detection systems can use AI to analyze traffic patterns and automatically highlight potential threats to your IT infrastructure e.g. recording new and unknown IP addresses accessing the network.

As phishing emails are one of the main beneficiaries of AI, it makes sense to strengthen your employee training in this area. Not only should this be an integral part of IT inductions for new staff, but solidifying this knowledge with regular refresher training is crucial for protecting your network. The effectiveness of this training can be evaluated by running random phishing email tests, whereby a ‘fake’ phishing email is randomly sent to staff to determine if they can identify the malicious nature of it.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Where is Cybersecurity Heading in 2023?

Artificial Intelligence, cryptojacking, cybersecurity, malware, Ophtek, Phishing, Ransomware, remote workers, , , , , , ,
08
Aug 2023

We’re already halfway through 2023 and threat actors are showing no signs of slowing up, but just where is cybersecurity heading?

It may feel as though you’re waging a never-ending battle against hackers and, well, that’s exactly what you’re doing. However, the strategies and techniques of threat actors has changed significantly in the last two decades. Back in 2003, for example, ransomware was less prevalent, but now it’s a major player in terms of cyber-attacks. Therefore, it’s always good to keep one step ahead of the hackers and understand where they are likely to go next.

What Will Future Cyber Attacks Look Like?

The future of cybersecurity will be concerned with maintaining defenses against existing threats and tackling new, innovative strategies launched by threat actors. These attacks are expected to be based in the following categories:

Artificial Intelligence: the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) has been huge in the last couple of years, just look at the interest generated by ChatGPT in 2023. However, the power to cause damage with AI is causing just as many headlines. You can, for example, ask AI systems to help generate code to build computer programs. The exact same code which is used to build malware. This means that designing and executing malware could be easier than ever before, and lead to a surge in new attacks.

Remote working: since the pandemic, more and more employees have been working remotely. While this is convenient, and has been shown to enhance productivity, it also increases the risk of falling victim to malware. Although many remote workers connect to their employers through a VPN, they are often accessing this through devices which aren’t secure. Also, as they will not have colleagues directly around them to offer advice, employees will be more vulnerable to, for example, clicking a malicious link.

Phishing: threat actors have been launching phishing attacks for nearly 20 years, and this means that many PC users can easily spot a phishing email. But this doesn’t mean we’re safe. Instead, it’s likely that future attacks will be more sophisticated to be successful. Taking advantage of AI and machine learning, threat actors will be able to craft phishing emails which are both engaging and convincing. This will allow their attacks to be more successful and harvest more stolen data.

Cryptojacking: despite several significant attacks, cryptojacking is yet to hit the mainstream PC user in the same way that ransomware has. Nonetheless, cryptojacking attacks are on the rise. Accordingly, PC users are likely to become more familiar with them in the next few years. Cryptojacking, as the name suggests, involves hijacking a PC and using its computing resources to mine cryptocurrencies. Due to the huge amount of processing power required to mine cryptocurrency, these attacks target entire networks and can grind them to a halt.

Final Thoughts

These four attack strategies may not be troubling you every day, but they could soon become regular headaches. That’s why you need to adopt a proactive approach to cybersecurity. Make sure that you

keep updated on the latest threats, regularly review your security measures, and ensure that your staff are fully trained in cybersecurity best practices.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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5 Cybersecurity Threats to Look Out For in 2023

Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, IOT, Ophtek, Ransomware, social engineering, , , , ,
03
Jan 2023

With the end of 2022 fast approaching, it’s time to start looking ahead to the potential security threats that hackers are planning for 2023. 2022 has been another year packed full of ransomware, deceptive malware and unbelievable software vulnerabilities, so it should come as no surprise that more of the same lies ahead. However, threat actors are constantly evolving their techniques and strategies to stay one step ahead of your defenses. Accordingly, you need to make sure you’re keeping pace with their advances and, where possible, putting solutions in place ahead of any attacks being launched.

Preparing for cybersecurity threats in 2023 is vital if you want to keep your IT infrastructure safe for the next 12 months, so let’s look at what we’re likely to be fighting against.

What’s in Store for 2023?

There will be many threats during 2023 to look out for, but the 5 biggest cybersecurity threats you need to be aware of are:

Ransomware will push onwards and upwards: one of the biggest threats to cybersecurity over the last 10 years has been ransomware, and it’s a trend which will continue in 2023. In particular, it’s believed ransomware will move its focus towards cloud providers rather than single organizations, a move which will allow threat actors to target multiple organizations based within one platform. Additionally, due to the speed with which it can be completed, it’s likely ransomware will concentrate on file corruption as opposed to full encryption.

Artificial intelligence will become more important: whilst the potential for AI to help organizations is immense, it also has the capability to fuel cyberattacks. Polymorphic code, for example, uses AI to rapidly change its code, a skill which makes it perfect for malware to avoid being detected. AI learning is also likely to be used to help threat actors to sniff out software vulnerabilities, an opportunity which will allow hackers to focus their real-time activities elsewhere.

Internet of Things attacks to increase: the Internet of Things (IoT) is only going to get bigger during 2023 and, given the historical security issues with IoT devices, this is going to create a small-scale nightmare for your network. As a result, more emphasis is going to be needed when working with IoT devices due to the increased surface area for hackers to target e.g. regular updates and inventory checks. Supply chains to be targeted more and more: supply chain attacks are very dangerous, and 2023 is likely to see a further increase in the number of attacks launched. Much like IoT attacks, supply chain attacks open a large surface area to threat actors, a point underlined by the SolarWinds attack which exposed hundreds of organizations to a single attack. Therefore, it will be crucial that software and hardware being released is thoroughly checked by its manufacturers to avoid any security disasters.

Social engineering to start working with deepfakes: the danger of deepfakes has been well documented in the last five years, but it’s possible these are now going to be integrated into social engineering scams. Deepfakes are all about deception and, at their best, they are highly convincing. Consequently, they are perfect for adding legitimacy to emails and videos which, for example, may be pushing for you to take a call-to-action which is a smokescreen for downloading malware.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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