CoreTech Blog

There has been a lot of talk recently, about how hackers are leveraging AI to breach businesses. Hackers can sneak their way in more easily with these new algorithms used in social engineering. 

Unfortunately, these are no longer just theoretical discussions. We have reached a point where AI-powered data breaches are actually a reality. In fact, they are among the most rapidly growing threats to businesses everywhere. Today, we will talk about some real-life examples of recent data breaches made possible through AI. 

TaskRabbit Data Breach 

IKEA’s well-known online marketplace TaskRabbit was one of the targets of hackers using AI to breach businesses in April 2018. TaskRabbit’s primary goal is to match freelancers (Taskers) in housekeeping, moving, delivery, and similar industries with local demand (Clients). It operates on a large scale, and when the breach happened, the site had millions of registered users. 

The company has found out that over 3.75 million records of Taskers and Clients were affected in the breach. Personal information and financial details were stolen. The website and the mobile app had to be shut down and taken offline for a while as the company dealt with the damage. According to investigations, the distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attack used an AI-enabled botnet. 

Yum! Brands Data Breach

Yum! Brands, was the victim of hackers using AI to breach businesses in January 2023. Initially, management thought that corporate data was the sole target of the attack, but it turned out that employee information was also compromised. An unidentified malicious actor launched a ransomware attack that led to the breach.

Many ransomware attacks that took place after the creation of AI tools leveraged AI technology to automate decisions on which data to take, as some brought more damage potential to the target business. It proved to be a good tactic, as Yum! was forced to close nearly 300 of their UK branches for several weeks. 

AI used to Breach Businesses like T-Mobile

This wireless network operator is no stranger to data breaches, having survived nine separate attacks in the last five years. Early this year, T-Mobile revealed that 37 million of its customer’s records were stolen in a breach that began in November 2022. 

According to the company’s AI analysts, the threat actor used an application programming interface or API equipped with AI capabilities and could secure unauthorized access. This ultimately led to the theft and exposure of sensitive client information, including full names, contact numbers, and PINs. 

AI used to Breach Businesses like Activision

In December 2023, hackers launched a targeted phishing campaign against Activision, the company that created the Call of Duty games. Hackers used AI to breach businesses like Activision and created the SMS messages used for the phishing attacks, which ultimately proved successful as one HR staff member succumbed to the bait. 

But we all know that one click is all it takes because, immediately, the hacker gains access to the complete employee database. This included email addresses, phone numbers, work locations, salaries, and more. However, they were able to find a solution since Activision could find the breach early.

Don’t Be the Next Victim of Hackers using AI to Breach Businesses!

Because of AI tools, data breaches have become much more far-reaching today in terms of business damage as compared to years past. The total cost is also much higher, with an average expense of $4.45 million for each breach. Although hiring an AI cybersecurity expert and upgrading your system would cost money, it wouldn’t come close to the expense of the harm a cyberattack would cause.

The examples above are all real, and as you can see, they have happened to large companies. All these companies thought they had reliable security systems, or so they thought. The point is that any of us, including you, could experience a data breach, especially one that uses AI. To learn more about how hackers use AI technology, download our FREE eBook, “The Growing Role of AI in Security – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

Would you take the risk and just cross your fingers that you don’t become the next victim, or would you take proactive measures right now to boost your defenses and maximize your company’s protection? If you choose the latter, we are here to provide all the services you need. Just contact us so we can make sure your system is safe from AI attacks.

Data breaches are now more rampant than ever to steal personal information. Each month sees at least 150 incidents that affect businesses, and these only account for the reported cases. One reason hackers can execute data breaches so easily is because of modern technology, like artificial intelligence. While AI can help society at large, it has also been instrumental in illicit activities like stealing personal information. Here are 7 ways by which hackers are using AI to infiltrate businesses.

Artificial intelligence has evolved dramatically, and the improvements are evident. In one of its first applications, AI was used to develop a checkers program. It was a monumental achievement at the time but seems so simplistic compared to today’s AI applications. AI is an everyday tool behind many ordinary things like virtual assistants, autonomous vehicles, and chatbots. Because of this AI is now used against your employees if they are not aware. 

The Dark Side of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI has become so advanced that it is often difficult to fathom whether something is real or AI-generated. When you attempt to distinguish between real photos taken by your friend and those produced by an AI photo app, it can be quite amusing. However, this could turn dangerous, especially when hackers use it to target employees. The goal is to infiltrate a company’s system or steal confidential data. And what’s alarming is that there are several ways that this can be done. 

Using AI Chatbots for Phishing Campaigns Against Employees

There used to be a time when phishing emails were easily distinguishable because of their glaring grammatical errors or misplaced punctuation marks. But with AI-powered chatbots, hackers can now generate almost flawlessly written phishing emails. Not only that, but these messages can also be personalized, making it more likely for the recipient to fall victim, as they won’t suspect that the email is fake.

CEO Fraud and Executive Phishing

This is not an entirely new method of social engineering. However, it has had a much higher success rate since generative AI tools emerged, making the phishing campaign more effective. In this type of phishing attack, hackers send out emails that look like they came from the CEO or some other high-ranking official. Most employees will not question this type of authority, especially since the message looks authentic, complete with logos and signatures. 

Using AI Deepfake to Create Deceptive Videos Against Employees

Many people are aware by now that emails can easily be faked. With the prevalence of phishing scams and similar cyberattacks, we now tend to be more vigilant when reading through our inboxes. But videos are a different thing. As the saying goes, to see is to believe. If there is a video, it must be real. There is no need to verify because it is in front of your eyes, so they would willingly volunteer sensitive information, grant unauthorized access, or whatnot. However many employees don’t realize that AI is so advanced that even these videos can now be fabricated using Deepfake technology.

What You Can Do To Keep Your Employees and Your Business Safe

Hackers are taking advantage of AI technology to execute their attacks. We can only expect these strategies to become even more aggressive as AI continues to advance. But at the same time, there are steps you can take to increase safety for your business and your employees.

AI Cybersecurity Training for Employees 

Awareness is key to mitigating the risks brought by AI-based attacks. With regular cybersecurity training, you can maintain employee awareness, help them understand how AI attacks work, and equip them with the knowledge to pinpoint red flags in suspicious emails. 

Limit Access to Sensitive Information

Employees should always be on a need-to-know basis with the company’s sensitive information to minimize the damage in the event of a data breach. The less they know, the less the cybercriminals can get out of them. 

Use AI-Powered Security Solutions

When it comes to AI, two can play the game. Cybercriminals may use AI to penetrate your system, but you can also use AI to detect such threats from a mile away. The important thing is to stay a couple of steps ahead of the enemy by ensuring that experts equip your security system with the most advanced AI tools to protect your organization and your employees.

Partner with an AI Security Expert

There is a plethora of AI tools widely available to anyone, and many of these are even free. But if you want to have the most secure system possible, we strongly recommend that you seek the help of experts in AI technologies. They can give you access to the most advanced AI tools and systems. On top of that, they can customize security strategies to align with your goals.

To learn more about what you can do, watch our on-demand webinar or download our Cybersecurity E-book.

AI technology has become so powerful that it can sometimes be scary. But with the right security solutions in place, your business and your employees can stay safe. If you are ready to take the step towards higher security and more robust protective measures, let us know. We will hook you up with an expert MSP fully capable of catering to your security needs.

Hacking methodologies have improved over the years. The moment a new IT program or algorithm becomes known, cybercriminals are right on it, immediately looking for ways to use these developments to their advantage. This is especially true in the realm of AI and cyber attacks.

While artificial intelligence has long been part of daily computing, recent advancements like generative AI chatbots have become a playground for hackers. Despite having robust cybersecurity strategies, many business owners may underestimate the potential threats posed by AI and cyber attacks.

A Rise in Security Risks for Businesses Because of AI

Thanks to AI tools, what used to be impossible is now very easy. Writing content, generating code, and analyzing data—an untrained employee with just a few clicks can do even so. For sure, businesses can save a lot of time, energy, and staff by using these tools. But since these same tools are also accessible to hackers, businesses will face harsh security risks because of AI and cyber attacks. 

Using AI Tools to Launch Attacks on Companies

Hackers have found so many ways to use AI tools to launch cyber attacks. We have already discussed this in our previous two blogs, so we will no longer go into detail. However, some of the most notable applications cybercriminals have found for AI are for writing phishing emails that look very real, tracking keyboard inputs, analyzing online data, cracking passwords, and launching automated and simultaneous attacks. 

AI has basically eliminated the need for superior programming skills to be a successful hacker. Hackers can do most of the tasks within seconds, with the right strategy and using the right AI algorithms. 

So now that hackers are actively using AI as a tool to penetrate even the most foolproof systems, it is not the time for companies to sit back and relax. Instead, businesses should upgrade their cybersecurity systems, ensuring that they update them enough to protect against AI-powered security risks. 

Attacking Vulnerable Businesses with AI Systems

The widespread use of AI systems by businesses, which is understandable, is another factor contributing to the increase in cyber attacks. With the benefits these systems offer, it would be unwise not to take advantage of them. But like anything in its early stages, AI systems are still new and have a few vulnerabilities. Because of this, they have become an easy and prevalent target for hackers. 

Hackers have identified at least four methods for attacking a company’s AI system. Adversarial attacks are the most common, where an algorithm misleads a machine learning model by submitting an intentionally wrong input. Other methods are data poisoning and prompt injection, which can corrupt the system’s learning process.

Hackers favor backdoor attacks because they can infiltrate a target AI system for a very long time without the system’s security even noticing them. Backdoors are a bit more difficult to implement, but the rewards for hackers are tremendous.

How Businesses Can Mitigate AI and Cyber Attack Risks

Now, although AI comes with endless benefits, it also brings with it monumental security risks. It is also not a passing trend that will fade soon enough and that you can ignore. This is just the beginning. AI tools for hacking will become more destructive in the coming years. And for this reason, businesses must be concerned about these AI tools and cyber attacks. 

The good news is that there are many things businesses can do to protect against security risks. If you are already using generative AI tools in your business, you must identify and contain its vulnerabilities and take steps to strengthen these areas of the system. Regular employee training is also a must, particularly about prudence in entering data into AI-powered chatbots. 

It is also crucial to do data encryption when training a generative AI system for your business. Keeping data anonymous is also helpful in maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information. Of course, your choice of AI tools is also very important. There are now so many choices available, and the tendency is to go for the cheapest one. But it is always better to spend more on a reliable tool rather than risk the security of your business for a few dollars saved. 

If you want to learn more about using AI systems and protecting your business from AI and cyber attacks, we can help. Just call us and we will schedule a consultation where we can discuss your business security needs and address them accordingly. Don’t forget to Download our E-book which talks about the cybersecurity role of AI in security.