There are more data breaches than ever before to steal personal information. At least 150 business-related incidents occur monthly, and these figures only include reported occurrences. Currently, artificial intelligence can help hackers perform successful data breaches. While the developers initially intended AI to benefit society, hackers use it for illegal acts such as identity theft. Here are seven methods by which hackers can use AI to breach companies.
Customized Phishing to Steal Personal Information
One of the most often used hacking techniques today is phishing. This approach is because phishing has a high success rate since it depends on people, who are always the weakest link in an organization’s security. However, since AI burst onto the scene, phishing is even more dangerous for people and companies. People are more likely to believe messages that appear to be genuine. Hackers can then scam the victim and steal data from their system.
Distributing Deepfakes to Steal Personal Information
AI-generated videos or sound samples that appear lifelike are called deepfakes. Hackers can use these movies to steal your data. They can send a deepfake video that looks like it came from a supervisor directly to employees. When the “supervisor” requests information, the worker complies since they are their employer. Hackers can also use Deepfake content to spread unfavorable information about a company. They can exploit the ensuing turmoil and compromised security by jumping right in and successfully carrying out a data breach.
Breaking CAPTACHA
Until recently, one of the best ways to tell a genuine person from a machine was to use CAPTCHA. However, AI has advanced to where it can now faithfully mimic human behavior and pictures. For example, in a standard CAPTCHA image, you may be required to click on each box containing a bridge. The outdated method assumes that only humans can complete this task correctly. However, AI systems can quickly analyze the image and react appropriately, just like a human would. Using this method, the hacker can steal personal information they choose after getting past the CAPTCHA protection gates.
Applying Brute Force to Steal Personal Information
Historically, the most popular method for breaking passwords involved attempting every combination until you found the one that worked. Brute forcing is the term for this. Even now, the same procedure is used. But with AI tools—especially those that examine a user’s online activity—the procedure takes less time and processing resources.
Hearing Keystrokes
One can “listen” to keystrokes using a variety of AI technologies. AI may identify a user’s password with up to 95% accuracy by simply recording their keystrokes, as opposed to attempting every possible letter and number combination like in the brute force method. Like most AI algorithms, this one will require a lot of training, but once the machine-learning process is over, hackers can use this tool to crack even the most complicated passwords to steal personal information.
Sound-based Fingerprinting
One of the most widely used security techniques used today is voice biometrics. Since voiceprints, like fingerprints, are unique, we consider them extremely safe. However, speech print duplication is now quite simple thanks to AI. It’s referred to by many as audio fingerprinting. With AI, hackers can produce audio clips in the target’s precise voice in just minutes with just a few minutes of voice samples.
Social Engineering with AI Support
The term “social engineering” describes the trickery or manipulation of individuals to persuade them to divulge private information or provide entry to restricted locations. It is more of a technique for deceiving people by preying on their trust or other vulnerabilities. Social engineering has long been a tactic used by cybercriminals, but with AI tools and algorithms, the method has become much more effective and has increased hacking success.
Our Conclusion on AI Being Used to Steal Personal Information
This is only the beginning of the list. Hackers can use AI in a variety of additional methods to steal personal information. In the future, they will undoubtedly also find scores of newer, riskier techniques. However, companies don’t have to remain vulnerable. There are countermeasures for AI hacking, and a lot of them also entail using AI.
Our Company is committed to leveraging technology to advance enterprises, and security is no exception. We can connect you with the best service provider to meet your demands if you wish to strengthen your defenses against AI-powered efforts to steal your information. Our cybersecurity e-book and on-demand webinar are both excellent resources for learning. Please let us know what you need so we can send you additional information via email!