Ivan Milenkovic, Vice President – Cyber Risk Technology, EMEA at Qualys
The real-world cybercriminals are( mostly) very different from the stereotypes we normally associate with them. They run a serious business. The world’ s third largest economy to be precise. And, as good entrepreneurs, they’ ve realised AI isn’ t just buzz; it’ s very effective.
AI-driven tools help them launch smarter, faster and more convincing attacks. Automated AI systems can craft phishing emails personalised precisely to your employees, mimicking colleagues’ writing styles, and making malicious links or attachments worryingly believable. Spear phishing is no longer clumsy; it’ s bespoke, targeted and efficient. Your people are much more likely to click because the emails seem genuine. This significantly increases the risk.
Ivan Milenkovic, Vice President – Cyber Risk Technology, EMEA at Qualys
As Artificial Intelligence evolves, so too do the tactics of cybercriminals exploiting it to launch faster, more complex cyberattacks. In this feature, three industry experts examine how threat actors are leveraging AI maliciously – and how businesses can harness the same technology to build stronger, smarter cyberdefences in an ever-shifting landscape.
Cybercriminals also leverage AI to rapidly identify vulnerabilities within your digital infrastructure. Using automated scanning and AI-assisted analysis, attackers pinpoint weak spots faster than most organisations can remediate them. They’ re using AI to create and drive malware that evolves on the fly, evading traditional signature-based detection, making your antivirus look like yesterday’ s newspaper. Ransomware powered by Machine Learning learns your defensive habits and bypasses them intelligently. Essentially, cybercriminals use AI not just to speed up attacks, but to anticipate your responses and manoeuvre around them.
But enough doom – here’ s what you must do about it:
Firstly, wake up to reality. Traditional defences alone won’ t cut it. You need your defensive strategy to embrace AI. Start with smarter threat detection and response. AI-aided or powered endpoint protection, detection and response( EDR and XDR) tools are very powerful. These learn the baseline of normal network behaviour, spotting threats based on subtle anomalies, not outdated signatures.
Integrate AI into your vulnerability management programmes – adopt platforms like Qualys’ VMDR combined with their TruRisk system. They prioritise vulnerabilities using real-world threat data,
They’ re using AI to create and drive malware that evolves on the fly, evading traditional signature-based detection, making your antivirus look like yesterday’ s newspaper.
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