As if phishing attacks weren't already difficult enough to protect against, the next generation of these attacks will be enabled by artificial intelligence (AI). This means that they will be even more sophisticated and elusive than ever. According to a recent report from IBM, AI-powered phishing attacks are on the rise, and they are becoming more sophisticated and difficult to detect. The report, which is based on data from IBM X-Force, found that there was a 250% increase in AI-powered phishing attacks in 2019. What makes these attacks so difficult to protect against is that they can constantly evolve and adapt to new environments. This means that they can bypass traditional security measures such as anti-phishing software. To make matters worse, these attacks are often targeted at specific individuals or organizations. This makes them even more difficult to detect and protect against.
What is AI-enabled phishing?
AI-enabled phishing attacks are becoming more common as attackers are able to use AI to create more realistic and targeted phishing emails. These emails can be very difficult to distinguish from legitimate emails, which can make them very effective at tricking users into clicking on malicious links or attachments.
How does AI-enabled phishing work?
AI-enabled phishing works by using machine learning to create realistic and targeted phishing emails. The attacker first creates a phishing template that includes all of the necessary elements of a phishing email (e.g., sender information, subject line, email body, etc.). Then, the attacker uses a dataset of legitimate emails to train a machine learning algorithm. This algorithm is used to generate new phishing emails that are realistic enough to trick even the most savvy users.
What are some examples of AI-enabled phishing?
One example of AI-enabled phishing is Google DeepMind's PhishNet. PhishNet is a machine learning system that was trained on a dataset of over 1.3 billion phishing emails. PhishNet is designed to automatically generate new phishing emails that are realistic enough to trick users.
Another example of AI-enabled phishing is Microsoft's "FoolMe" system. FoolMe is a machine learning system that was trained on a dataset of over 200,000 phishing emails. FoolMe is designed to automatically generate new phishing emails that are realistic enough to trick users.
Finally, an example of AI-enabled phishing is the "PhishZoo" system. PhishZoo is a machine learning system that was trained on a dataset of over 1.2 million phishing emails. PhishZoo is designed to automatically generate new phishing emails that are realistic enough to trick users.
These are just a few examples of AI-enabled phishing. There are many other similar systems that have been developed by other companies and organizations.
What are the consequences of AI-enabled phishing?
AI-enabled phishing has the potential to cause serious damage to individuals, businesses, and organisations. The most obvious consequence is that users may accidentally disclose sensitive information (e.g., passwords, credit card numbers, etc.) to the attacker. In addition, AI-enabled phishing can also lead to the installation of malware on the victim's device. This malware can be used to steal sensitive information or to conduct other malicious activities.
AI-enabled phishing can also be used to launch attacks against organisations. For example, an attacker could use AI to create a large number of fake accounts on a social networking site. These fake accounts could then be used to spread propaganda or to mount attacks against the organisation. This type of attack can also be used to conduct denial-of-service attacks, where the attacker uses AI to send a large number of phishing emails to the victim. This can overwhelm the victim's email server, preventing legitimate emails from being delivered.
Finally, AI-enabled phishing can be used to carry out targeted attacks. In these attacks, the attacker uses AI to identify potential targets and then sends them highly personalized phishing emails. These emails are designed to trick the victim into revealing sensitive information or taking some other action that will benefit the attacker.
How can you protect against AI-enabled phishing?
Organisations need to be aware of the dangers of AI-enabled phishing and take steps to protect themselves. One way to do this is to use AI to detect and block phishing attacks. This can be done by training an AI system to recognise patterns in phishing emails. Once the system has been trained, it can be used to automatically block phishing emails. Organisations should also educate their employees about the dangers of AI-enabled phishing. Employees should be taught how to recognise phishing emails and what to do if they receive one. In addition, employees should be encouraged to report any suspicious emails to their IT department.
Organisations should also consider using AI to improve their security posture. AI can be used to automatically detect and block malicious activity. For example, it can be used to identify and block malicious IP addresses. AI can also be used to monitor user activity and detect unusual behaviour. By using AI-enabled tools to improve their security posture, organisations can make it more difficult for attackers to successfully launch phishing attacks.
