Artificial intelligence is no longer just a tool—it is a game-changer in our lives, our work, and in both cybersecurity and cybercrime. While businesses leverage AI to enhance defenses, cybercriminals are weaponizing AI to make these attacks more scalable and convincing.
How Cybercriminals are Utilizing AI
AI is transforming cybercrime, making attacks more scalable, efficient, and accessible. Research highlights how AI has democratized cyber threats, enabling attackers to automate social engineering and expand phishing campaigns. Deepfake audio and video scams are being used to impersonate business executives, co-workers or family members to manipulate victims into transferring money or revealing sensitive data. These tactics are deployed to influence elections, spread disinformation, and erode trust in democratic institutions.
Security Risks of LLM Adoption
Beyond misuse by threat actors, business adoption of AI chatbots and LLMs introduces significant security risks. Poorly integrated AI systems can be exploited by adversaries and enable new attack vectors, including prompt injection, content evasion, and denial-of-service attacks. Bias within LLMs poses another challenge, as these models learn from vast datasets that may contain skewed or outdated information.
How Defenders Can Use AI and AI Agents
Organizations cannot afford to remain passive in the face of AI-driven threats. Security teams can deploy AI to monitor networks in real-time, identify anomalies, and respond faster than human analysts. AI solutions can analyze message patterns and behavioral anomalies to identify AI-generated phishing attempts, while also supporting employee training to improve individual defenses against AI-generated deception.
In a fast-paced environment where both attackers and defenders use AI, organizations need to guard against complacency. A measured, thoughtful approach to AI security solutions is essential to ensure a secure future for cybersecurity.
