Hackers are using Artificial intelligence (AI) to breach businesses. This topic has been the subject of many discussions in recent weeks. Adopting these new algorithms for social engineering and other hacks makes it much easier for hackers to infiltrate systems.
Sadly, these are no longer only theoretical conversations. Hackers using AI to breach businesses are now a serious possibility. They represent one of the global corporate dangers that is expanding the fastest. We’ll discuss a few recent, real-world instances of data breaches enabled by artificial intelligence today.
AI used to Breach Businesses like TaskRabbit
IKEA’s well-known online marketplace TaskRabbit was the target of Hackers using AI to breach businesses in April 2018. The main objective of TaskRabbit is to connect local clients with independent contractors (Taskers). Contractors in the housekeeping, moving, delivery, and related industries. It had millions of registered users at the time of the breach and runs on a massive scale.
The organization has disclosed that the incident exposed over 3.75 million Tasker and Client records. Because personal and financial information was stolen. As a way to fix the damage, the website and the mobile app had to remain offline. An AI-enabled botnet carried out the distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attack, according to investigations.
AI used to Breach Businesses like Yum!
Yum! Brands, which operates Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC, suffered a data breach in January 2023. At first, management believed that the hack was limited to company data, but it later became apparent that employee data was also compromised. The intrusion resulted from an unidentified malevolent actor launching a ransomware attack.
Like many ransomware operations that followed the release of AI tools, this attack used AI technology to determine the most valuable data based on how much damage it could cause to the target company. Yum! closed roughly 300 of their UK branches for several weeks; therefore, using AI was a successful strategy.
Data Breach at T-Mobile
Unfortunately, this wireless network operator has had nine separate attacks in the last five years, so data breaches are nothing new to them. T-Mobile disclosed early this year that a hack that started in November 2022 had exposed 37 million user details.
According to the company’s security experts, the threat actor exploited an application programming interface (API) with AI capabilities and could get unauthorized access. The breach resulted in the theft and disclosure of private client data, including complete names, phone numbers, and PINs.
Data Breach at Activision
Hackers using AI to breach businesses began a targeted phishing effort against Activision in December 2023. AI wrote the fake SMS messages for the phishing attempts, and the fact that an employee in HR fell for the bait proved the effectiveness of the campaign.
However, as we know, it only takes a single click to allow a breach. The hacker could access the entire personnel database right away. Hackers were able to steal mail addresses, phone numbers, work locations, pay rates, and other information. However, Activision’s early detection of the breach allowed for its swift containment, minimizing the damage.
Avoid Hackers Using AI to Breach Businesses Now!
Compared to previous years, data breaches have a significantly greater potential to cause corporate damage because of (AI) capabilities. With an average cost of $4.45 million for each data breach, the overall cost of keeping a business open is higher. Although hiring an AI cybersecurity specialist and updating your system would cost you some money, it would be well-spent compared to the harm a hack could cause.
The instances are authentic and observable, affecting sizable corporations that believed they had a dependable security mechanism in place. The goal is that anyone, including you, could fall victim to a data breach, particularly one brought on by AI. Please download our FREE eBook, “The Growing Role of AI in Security – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” to learn more about how hackers are using AI technology.
Would you rather take the chance and hope you’re not the next casualty, or would you act proactively today to strengthen your defenses and optimize the safety of your business? Should you opt for the latter, we are here to assist you with all your needs. Please get in touch with us so that we can begin protecting your system from artificial intelligence threats.