Are Threat Actors Using AI for Inspiration

Are Threat Actors Using AI for Inspiration?

How adversaries are leveraging artificial intelligence to strengthen attacks

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more advanced and widely used, so does its use for nefarious purposes. Bad actors are using AI to increase the efficacy of cyberattacks. AI systems can be leveraged in many types of attacks-including distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, where they optimize the attack to target the most effective attack vectors given the system they are attacking.

AI-aided attacks can bring a new level of risk to cyberattacks. Whether that risk is to individuals within an organization, the public reputation of your brand, or the bottom line, enterprises need to be prepared for sophisticated cyberattacks by having a stout defensive stance and the tools necessary to recover from a breach quickly.

Unique Threats of Generative AI (GenAI)

GenAI can take many facets of cyberthreats to new levels. These include:

• Enhancements to social engineering:
  • Crafting more convincing and unique phishing emails
  • Mimicking voices in audio messages
• Image or video generation:
  • Deepfake images have been shown to trick biometric facial recognition if they are executed correctly, and adversaries have access to this technology
• Attack scale:
  • Scaling an attack to be bigger and better is easier than ever due to the automation it can empower
  • Automating rudimentary processes, such as sending phishing emails, can let adversaries target more individuals within an organization to increase their chances of gaining access

Fighting AI with AI

AI isn't just a new toy for the adversary. Businesses can leverage AI to automate IT processes, analyze data, and enhance cybersecurity protocols. Powerful AI platforms can leverage network data to automatically discover threats and aid in removing them from networks and applications in record time. Efficiency is the name of the game with AI, and it delivers that when utilized properly for cyberdefenses. NETSCOUT translates raw network data into usable insights to feed your AIOps platform with better data. This enables teams to quickly detect and mitigate cybersecurity risks to keep networks secure and operating at peak efficiency.

The Best Defense Is Trained Humans

Although AI simplifies processes and increases efficiency, the best defense starts with humans. Having an adequately trained staff and qualified cybersecurity teams is paramount to keeping networks secure. With properly trained teams, organizations are far less likely to fall victim to a social engineering campaign, preventing many breaches before they can even start.

However, even with the most highly trained staff, breaches are still a major risk. Strong network detection and response (NDR) tools and AI insights can arm security teams with the necessary resources to identify and remove threats in a timely manner. NETSCOUT compiles better telemetry data to feed AIOps platforms, helping expedite responses to breaches and minimizing the damage threat actors can cause to networks and sensitive information.

Learn more about how NETSCOUT helps feed AIOps platforms with curated telemetry data.