By Hal Pratt
DALLAS—Artificial intelligence is rapidly making cybercrime more convincing, more scalable and far more personal, according to cybersecurity experts speaking at the EDGE 26 Technology Conference here, where attendees were warned the greatest cyber risk facing organizations today is no longer technology itself, but increasingly sophisticated AI-powered social engineering attacks designed to manipulate human behavior.
During a session titled, “Your Biggest Cyber Risk Isn’t Technology: It’s AI-Powered Manipulation,” hacker and author FC and cybersecurity expert Jessica Barker said criminals are now able to create fake companies, synthetic identities, deepfake audio and realistic short-form videos within minutes using readily available AI tools, dramatically lowering the barrier for fraud schemes targeting businesses and consumers alike.
The presenters stressed that victims of social engineering are not careless or unintelligent, but rather human beings vulnerable to emotional manipulation tactics specifically designed to trigger fear, urgency and trust.
At the heart of cybercrime, they noted, is social engineering. Social engineering, the presenters reminded, is where cyber criminals are using well-known psychological tricks and techniques to manipulate people to:
- Download a malicious attachment appearing institution
- Send money to a fake recipient
- Provide sensitive, private information
The presenters emphasized that anyone being a victim of social engineering doesn't mean they are dumb or careless.
“It simply means that we are human beings who need to have trust,” FC stated. “The need to trust is deeply embedded in how we are wired.”
People have two ways of processing information: the rational and deliberate way, which is very hard to manipulate. The second is the emotional way to process information. This is the way criminals use to make people worry… be scared… or rushed; it triggers a very tiny part of the brain, the amygdala, which can overtake all of the other senses. Criminals know how to exploit this, the presenters emphasized.
The speakers explained how easy and quickly fake companies and individuals can be created with AI. Deepfake audios, static facial images and even short form videos can be created in a matter of minutes today, demonstrating how readily AI can be used to attack any company or person.
The “really scary part,” the speakers said, comes from how a single facial image of a person can be manipulated in AI to create a short-form deepfake videos. More frighteningly, they can be run on single laptop with ordinary internet connections. These more elaborate methods of disguise are more common when larger sums of money are at stake. Not surprisingly, organized criminal gangs are becoming more and more involved.
The discussion concluded with this key message:
“As humans, we are all susceptible to social engineering. By understanding all of the increasingly convincing means of deception, you can be better prepared to protect yourself, your family and business. It comes down to building trust and verifying that trust.”