Cybercrime Gets Smarter: AI-Powered Attacks on the Rise

Over the past year, cybercriminals have increasingly harnessed generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), notably ChatGPT and Gemini, to refine their attacks, positioning GenAI as a principal threat in the realm of cybersecurity. Experts emphasize that we are merely at the dawn of a new epoch in hacking, courtesy of the capabilities offered by large language models (LLM).

Richard Addiscott, who serves as the Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, underscores the nascent stage of GenAI’s development and points out the already visible potential of generative AI in fortifying security and safeguarding applications. The analyst highlights the significance of recognizing the prospects and opportunities GenAI presents.

For chief information security officers, GenAI represents both a challenge and an opportunity to leverage novel technologies to bolster protection at the operational level. In a landscape where cybersecurity incidents from external organizations are inevitable, Addiscott advises focusing on the development and reinforcement of emergency response plans.

Furthermore, according to the 2024 Cisco Data Privacy Benchmark Study, 27% of organizations have instituted a permanent or temporary prohibition on the use of GenAI due to concerns related to data privacy and security. The primary apprehensions stem from the threat to legitimate rights and intellectual property (cited by 69% of companies) and the risk of unintentional disclosure of information to the public or competitors (68%).