Phishing, the infamous practice of tricking individuals into revealing sensitive information, has been one of the greatest and most persistent cybersecurity threats for decades. But with the advent of AI, phishing attacks are becoming even more sophisticated, personalized, and harder to detect. Make no mistake, this is no minor evolution. AI is poised to revolutionize social engineering in a way few are likely prepared for.
Traditionally, phishing attacks have relied on generic ‘sense of urgency’ language in emails and text messages, often with poor grammar or other telltale signs of forgery. These were relatively easy to spot with a trained eye. AI on the other hand, is changing this completely. At the click of a button, AI algorithms, also called LLMs (Large Language Models), can craft highly personalized messages by analyzing vast amounts of data from social media, corporate websites, and other public sources to mimic legitimate communication styles and content. This allows attackers to create perfectly convincing messages tailored to specific individuals or departments within an organization, without the additional time, effort, or skill traditionally required. The ability to automate and scale such targeted campaigns so rapidly means that every campaign could be as targeted and sophisticated as SpearPhishing and Whaling campaigns which used to be reserved for high value targets due to their complexity and costs.
Better Phishing emails is just the tip of the iceberg. AI-powered voice and video cloning, also known as ‘deep fakes’, has created an entirely new frontier of social engineering. These deep fakes can be used to impersonate trusted individuals, such as executives or colleagues, either on the phone or even in live video calls to trick employees into divulging sensitive information or authorizing fraudulent transactions. Many might say, “I would never fall for a trick like this. I could definitely tell.” which is exactly the mentality that attackers hope to exploit with these attacks. The fact of the matter is no one has their guard up 100% of the time, and over confidence in the perceived ability to detect these kinds of deep fakes is a major contributing factor to their effectiveness in real world scenarios.
While the threat of AI social engineering continues to grow, there are steps companies can take to help protect themselves. The most effective of these is active phishing simulation training. This type of training regularly simulates phishing attacks by sending emails that emulate attempts seen in the real world and tracks users' responses such as who opened the email, who attempted to respond, or who clicked a link or downloaded an attachment. More advanced versions of these simulation platforms like CyberData Secure, will even automatically assign relevant training to those individuals who fail this test, allowing the organization to continually strengthen its weakest areas, and keep all employees as vigilant as possible. Even something as simple as enabling and enforcing Multi-factor authentication can significantly limit the impact of a compromised user in many situations. Of course, when all else fails, having a well-defined incident response plan is critical for companies to quickly contain and mitigate the damage in the event of a successful phishing attack. While no one would ever hope to use it, no organization, no matter the size, should operate without one.
With all its promise and potential for market disruption, it’s abundantly clear that AI is a double-edged sword. While it offers many benefits, it also empowers cybercriminals with new tools to launch more sophisticated and dangerous attacks. By understanding the challenges posed by AI phishing and taking proactive steps to protect themselves, companies can mitigate the risk and stay ahead of this evolving threat.