AI is helping to supercharge cybercrime

The same tech that helps clear out your email backlog is also being used for more nefarious purposes.

As generative AI continues to progress, hackers are taking advantage to boost the effectiveness and output of their operations.

• OpenAI and Anthropic have both already found evidence of nation-state adversaries and cybercriminals using their models to write code and research their attacks, while Google says it’s also seen similar activity.
• In particular, Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and North Korean hackers are using AI tools to enhance their operations, several security executives told Axios.

The tech is a useful tool. AI-automated phishing emails achieved 54% click-through rates over the past year, compared to a 12% rate for messages that didn’t use AI, per a recent Microsoft report. The company predicts AI automation can eventually increase the profitability of such attacks by up to 50x.

But there’s room for hope

The same next-gen AI technology is also helping to defend networks from malicious attacks. Companies like Microsoft, Google, and CrowdStrike are deploying AI tools that spot unusual behavior, block malicious links, and respond automatically to attacks, sometimes in minutes instead of weeks.

• More than 80% of major companies are currently using AI to beef up their own cyber defenses, according to a survey by AI-powered cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct.

Looking ahead…Experts say hackers are just months away from building AI tools that can automate their entire process, from spotting vulnerabilities to launching customized attacks on companies and organizations.