A SECURITY expert has warned how artificial intelligence is about to change cybercriminals attacks and not for the better.
Your inbox may never be the same as AI can make it more difficult to spot a scam.
Stu Sjouwerman, founder and CEO of security firm KnowBe4, revealed his concerns about AI phishing emails in a recent blog post.
He wrote: ” In short, gone are the days of poorly written scam emails because ChatGPT wrote them.
“This single effort addressed the bottleneck in any threat groups phishing activities – the writing of the persuasive email designed to elicit a response from the potential victim.
“With well-written influential emails comes larger percentages of tricked victims.”
However, Sjouwerman thinks even more sophisticated scam AIs could be coming our way.
He describes these as “Large Language Models.”
That’s a type of AI algorithm that can use deep learning and huge amounts of data to create new content.
Sjourwerman wrote: “When focus is placed on writing compelling phishing emails, the likelihood that users will fall prey to the phishing content increases.”
He warns that this kind of scam will become commonplace, and people will find it harder to trust any email in their inbox.
“Literally any content that seems even the slightest bit suspect or out of the norm will need to be treated as hostile until proven otherwise,” the expert concluded.
HOW TO AVOID A PHISHING SCAM
Firstly, you should be thorough when checking who the email is from.
Even if it looks official, double-check the email and look for any spelling mistakes or slight abnormalities in the sender’s email address.
Never feel pressurised into opening an attachment and avoid clicking the phrase “enable content.”
You should also be wary of links in emails.
If you’re certain an email you have received is a scam, report it to your email provider and delete it.
