Fraud and online scams have become more sophisticated as Artificial Intelligence is changing the nature of cybercrime. According to a study from the Identity Theft Report Center, the volume of impersonation scams has grown by 148 percent year on year as AI tools are making scamming easier for cybercriminals. The research also reveals that businesses and financial institutions are the most common targets for impersonation scams, with Generative AI empowering more threat actors to launch identity fraud campaigns at a faster rate.
In a statement, ITRC CEO Eva Velasquez said that we’re only starting to see what AI can do to harm businesses, adding that it has gotten to a point “where traditional crime patterns give way to a landscape in which anyone can be a victim.” Impersonation scams can cause financial loss and damage to a business’s reputation, so entrepreneurs should strengthen their cybersecurity to better defend against AI-powered threats. Here’s how you can protect your small business in the era of Generative AI.
Invest in Employee Awareness Programs
There are various ways in which cybercriminals can use GenAI to scam business owners and their staff. They can mimic top executives or vendors to trick people into sending them money, or they can create realistic voice messages, entire messenger threads, or phishing emails to convince employees to give them access to sensitive information. Unfortunately, 64 percent of non-executive employees could not identify an AI-generated scam, and 43 percent of workers have fallen victim to a deepfake scheme. Being unable to identify an AI-powered scam can be damaging for your business, so it’s important to invest in employee awareness programs to prevent your staff from falling for deepfakes.
You can invite an expert to conduct cybersecurity awareness training since they are well-versed and updated in all the ways that scammers are weaponizing technology for personal gain. Apart from informative content, a typical training program may also include hands-on simulations and gamifications to engage learners. Work with professionals so your employees will know how to instantly recognize potential AI threats and learn best cybersecurity practices.
Have a Multi-Layered Security Framework
If you think that installing firewalls and antivirus software is enough to prevent AI scammers from infiltrating your data system, think again. Firewalls and conventional antivirus software can block traditional threats like malware, but these may not be enough to identify and block sophisticated AI-generated malicious content.
To protect against AI scammers, think about having a multi-layered security framework in place. This involves integrating security software that can detect and block AI threats, such as cloud access security blockers, as well as content delivery networks that block AI crawlers. Using data loss prevention (DLP) tools such as Proofpoint, Microsoft Purview, and Trellix can also help to prevent sensitive data from being uploaded to AI tools or machine learning apps. If you want to prevent employees from accessing AI websites, think about using a security product to block AI-related sites or services, such as Microsoft Defender for Endpoint or Microsoft Entra Global Secure Access.
Cybercriminals are using AI tools to alter the fraud landscape. Provide your employees with proper cybersecurity training, and use multiple tech solutions to protect your business from impersonation scams and other forms of online fraud.
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