Cyber crime is extremely detrimental to organizations, with serious implications to the future of the business. The effects can be longer lasting than anyone could ever expect. A study by Cybersecurity Ventures predicts these crimes will cost the world $6 Trillion a year by 2021.

Reports like that need to be a wake up call to businesses everywhere. That number is astronomical, but it should be no surprise to anyone who has followed the malicious exploits of hackers and online scammers. Cyber crimes have become big news, with large data breaches happening almost monthly and security breaches with major organizations generating news headlines. Additionally, there have recently been reports of foreign actors, from countries such as China and Russia, threatening and tampering with U.S. businesses and elections.

CyNtell’s cyber security specialists have analyzed and researched various emerging threats; compiling a list of trends and terms that could pose a threat to organizations within the coming year. They have analyzed the impact posed to businesses, governments, and individuals. What they found was that a large number of emerging threats would come from threat actors using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for criminal exploitation.

Artificial Intelligence Threats to Watch Out for in 2021

1. AI powered cyber attacks

Hackers create programs that mimic human behaviors using artificial intelligence. The hackers then use these programs to manipulate people into giving up their personal, financial, or proprietary business information. AI powered attacks pose a significant threat to ANY organization, as it is a constantly learning and evolving system.

2. Deepfakes

A combination of 2 words, “deep learning” and “fake;” deepfakes happen when AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology creates fake images and/or sounds that appear to be real. This usually appears in the form of video content or social media posts.

A deepfake might create a video in which a politician’s words are manipulated, making it appear the politician said something they never did. Other deepfakes superimpose the face of popular actors or celebrities onto other people’s bodies.

This can be especially harmful to an organization if a CEO or other executive officer is targeted and is made to appear, they said or did something against ethical, moral, or standard social behaviors.

3. Deepfake voice technology

This technology allows people to spoof the voices of other people – often politicians, CEO’s or celebrities – using artificial intelligence. Using the deepfake voice technology, threat actors can convince individuals to complete a variety of actions that benefit the threat actor.

One of the most common scams using deepfake voice technology is to convince targets that one of their relatives is in danger and the only way to protect them is to have large sums of money moved into the threat actors account as ransom payment. The actor uses the voice technology to convince the target that they have the “victim” under captivity by using the voice technology.

4. Synthetic Identities

Synthetic identities are a form of identity fraud in which threat actors use a mix of real and fabricated credentials to create the illusion of a real person. The threat actors use a mix of AI and machine-learning algorithms to collect the data on individuals without exerting much effort.

A threat actor may create a synthetic identity that includes a legitimate physical address. The Social Security number and birth date associated with that address, however, may not be legitimate. Using this method, the threat actor may be able to then spoof access credentials, such as key cards and ID badges; thus, allowing the threat actor access to potentially restricted areas or data.

5. Vehicle cyber attacks

Bluetooth has become a standard feature in almost every new car manufactured, some luxury models even contain Wi-Fi capabilities. While these features make your daily commute and long road trips more enjoyable, it also presents a new security threat. Hackers now have the ability to gain access to your vehicle, accessing GPS data to find out everywhere your vehicle has been, in addition to live vehicle tracking. A hacker may even have the skills to take control of the vehicle safety features, access any devices connected to the vehicle, and even install malware on the vehicle and connected devices.

Artificial Intelligence is relatively new and extremely powerful; these new and emerging technologies accelerate our daily lives to new levels.They allow us to make seamless transitions between home and work, create engaging apps and media services; they work for us in a variety of ways we never imagined. These technologies come at a cost however, providing threat actors with new attack vectors. As researchers develop and discover more powerful ways to implement artificial intelligence so will hackers. The responsibility of protecting our private lives and work data rests on the individual which means everyone must be aware of any new threats.

CyNtell’s cyber security experts are here to protect and support your organization and to keep threat actors from using these powerful capabilities against you.

Schedule a call with one of our experts today and let us protect your organization.