AI cyberthreats have reshaped the cybersecurity landscape. However, AI-powered tools and proactive strategies are essential to protect businesses from these increasingly sophisticated attacks, emphasising the need for human awareness and continuous education.
While AI can help you strengthen your defences by automating threat detection and response, it also powers more convincing phishing attempts, malware and deepfakes that put your business at risk. This dual impact makes it crucial for you to stay ahead of the curve and adopt proactive strategies to protect your organisation from traditional and AI-driven threats.
How generative AI is changing the cyberthreat landscape
Generative AI can create new content — such as code, images, videos and text — that’s often indistinguishable from what humans produce.
Its capabilities include creating malware code, highly realistic deepfake videos and personalised phishing emails that can easily deceive tech-savvy individuals.
Cybercriminals have harnessed this technology to automate attacks and make them more efficient and harder to detect.
AI allows these attackers to scale their efforts with unprecedented ease, lowering the skill level required to execute complex operations.
The accessibility of AI tools has reduced the cost of spear phishing attacks, which makes them as inexpensive as mass-scale, arbitrary emails. This has shifted the threat landscape, as even low-level criminals can deploy sophisticated AI-driven attacks without extensive resources or expertise.
Types of AI cyberthreats
As developers innovate generative AI, the variety and complexity of cyberthreats have expanded significantly.
From creating realistic deepfakes to automating phishing attacks, AI-driven threats are becoming increasingly difficult to detect and defend against.
Phishing attacks
Generative AI allows cybercriminals to craft personalised phishing emails far more convincing than traditional scams. Analysing data about the recipient — such as their role, interests or recent activities — allows AI to develop customised messages that feel relevant and trustworthy.
Unlike typical phishing schemes that send the same email to many recipients, AI enables attackers to send a unique email to each potential victim. This makes it much harder for cybersecurity systems to identify patterns or flag the emails as suspicious.
This level of sophistication increases the chances of a successful attack and makes detection far more challenging for companies.
Automated malware creation
AI can rapidly create and adapt malware, making it highly versatile and harder to counter. Using machine learning, it can analyse weaknesses in software or security systems and then modify malware code to exploit those specific vulnerabilities.
This adaptability allows the malware to evolve, bypassing traditional security measures and becoming increasingly difficult to detect.
Generated malware can also learn from failed attacks by adjusting its approach in real time to avoid antivirus software or firewalls.
This dynamic feature makes combating AI-powered malware a constant challenge for cybersecurity teams, as it requires continuous updates to defence strategies.
Deepfake and voice clone attacks
AI-generated videos and audio — often referred to as deepfakes — can convincingly impersonate executives or employees. Cybercriminals use generative AI to create realistic video calls or voice messages, tricking staff into believing they’re interacting with trusted individuals.
This tactic has been particularly effective in cases of financial fraud, where attackers pose as executives to authorise large money transfers or request sensitive data.
The US has seen a sharp rise in these incidents, ranking third among countries with the largest increase in deepfake-specific fraud cases from 2022 to 2023.
The precision of these AI-generated impersonations makes it harder for workers to recognise fraud, posing a serious threat to security.
Ransomware
Generative AI enhances ransomware by enabling it to identify and exploit specific vulnerabilities within corporate networks. Through machine learning, it can scan systems and analyse network structures. Then, it detects weak points that are more likely to be unprotected. Once vulnerabilities are identified, AI-driven ransomware can tailor its attack to bypass security measures.
Additionally, AI allows the ransomware to evolve in real-time, adjusting its tactics based on network defences and potentially spreading faster through the system. This precision targeting increases the success rate of ransomware attacks and makes recovery more complex and costly for enterprises.
The growing challenges for cybersecurity teams
Cybersecurity teams like yours face growing pressure to stay ahead of AI cyberthreats. In fact, 85% of security professionals have cited generative AI as the cause of a significant rise in attacks.
Automation is a powerful tool for defence and a weapon for attackers, adding a whole new level of complexity to your cybersecurity strategy. While AI can help automate threat detection and respond faster, it also enables criminals to launch more sophisticated and personalised attacks.
This dynamic landscape highlights a critical skills gap within cybersecurity. Your team needs to be equipped with AI expertise to combat AI-driven threats effectively.
However, finding and developing professionals with this specialised knowledge can be challenging. It goes beyond traditional cybersecurity skills — AI literacy is becoming essential to protecting your brand.
Addressing this gap is crucial to staying resilient against increasingly complex and automated attacks.
How business leaders can protect their organisations
As AI cyberthreats become more sophisticated, leaders must proactively safeguard their businesses.
Investing in advanced technologies and prioritising cybersecurity training can help you avoid these evolving risks and protect your company from potential attacks.
Invest in AI-powered defence solutions
Adopting AI-driven tools is crucial to stay ahead of the increasing threat of AI-enabled attacks. In fact, 51% of organisations already use it in their cybersecurity and fraud management efforts because it helps identify threats faster and more accurately than traditional methods.
These tools can spot patterns, detect unusual behaviour and respond to potential risks in real-time. Integrating AI into your security strategy helps you keep up with threats and sets you up for stronger, smarter protection.
Regular employee training
While AI tools are a robust defence, your team’s awareness is just as crucial in spotting generated phishing attacks and deepfakes.
Cybercriminals are increasingly shifting their focus to ‘naïve’ employees because breaking into sophisticated IT systems is becoming more challenging.
Your workers are often the first line of defence against these attacks. Training them to recognise suspicious emails, messages, and fake video or audio calls reduces the chances of a successful breach.
Empowering your staff with the proper knowledge protects your enterprise from AI cyberthreats.
Proactive monitoring and threat intelligence
Using AI-driven monitoring systems can be pivotal in preventing potential AI cyberthreats. These systems can anticipate and react in real-time, allowing you to address risks before damage is done.
With 75% of the rise in cyberattack costs from lost business and post-breach response activities, catching threats early protects your bottom line. Implementing these advanced tools can minimise disruptions, safeguard your data and avoid the hefty financial losses of a successful attack.
Staying ahead with AI-powered cybersecurity strategies
Investing in AI-powered defences is essential to keeping up with the rapidly evolving threat landscape.
Staying informed about emerging threats and advancements ensures your organisation remains resilient.
Prioritising cybersecurity and adopting cutting-edge tools and strategies can better safeguard against the growing rise of AI cyberthreats.
