Cybercriminals are abusing artificial intelligence (AI) to carry out complex attacks in a world where technology is used more and more, an expert claims. This poses serious risks to both individuals and companies.
This worrying trend is exemplified by recent high-profile instances of data breaches concerning Star Health, underscoring the critical need for improved cybersecurity safeguards.
Sneha Katkar, Head of Strategy and Product Custodian for Quick Heal’s antivirus portfolio, noted in an interview with media that cybercrime has changed significantly over the years.
“Cyber criminals today are not operating manually; they are using AI to automate attacks. They are using artificial intelligence to actually conduct these attacks. It’s so sophisticated in nature that the best of the best fall prey to it,” she noted.
Even the most resilient systems find it difficult to fend off such attacks because of this automation, which enables them to go over conventional security procedures, according to the speaker.
According to Katkar, the latest security lapses at Star Health serve as a sobering reminder of the weaknesses in digital infrastructures.
A dark web user claimed to have obtained, taken, and sold 375 million Airtel subscribers’ personal information in July 2024. Bharti Airtel, on the other hand, denied any data breach and called it a “desperate” attempt to damage the company’s reputation.
In September 2024, insurer firm Star Health faced a huge hack that exposed the sensitive health information of its clients on Telegram chatbots.
No matter what level of protection you have in place, even if it concerns a global major, a cybercriminal can create assaults that would get past the security measures that an organization has in place, according to Katkar. She went on to say that businesses have an obligation to contact their customers to inform them of any breaches of this nature.
“Essentially, what I’m trying to say is that because fraudsters are getting technologically savvy and super smart, consumers also need to have technology to essentially beat this. Because awareness is always going to be one step behind,” she stressed.
Although knowledge is important, the strategies used by scammers are always changing. She went on to say that con artists create other techniques as soon as victims become aware of a certain kind of scam.
To keep ahead of cybercriminals, a two-pronged strategy is required: utilizing technology in conjunction with consumer education.
The approximate amount that Indians lost to scammers between January and April 2024 was Rs 1,750 crore, according to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.
Cybercrimes such as ransomware, phishing, and online fraud are growing more common, and they have caused large financial losses for both individuals and companies.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has gained a lot of traction very quickly, which has sparked concerns about how it can improve cyberattacks by making phishing emails more convincing, automating criminal operations, and inventing new viruses.
Furthermore, there are numerous worries in the modern digital world, and money fraud is just one of them. Other urgent problems that are regrettably becoming more prevalent are identity theft and personal data breaches.
Recently, social media content creator Ranveer Allahbadia (Beer Biceps) and the YouTube feeds of India’s highest court were hacked.
Katkar brought up another instance in which a CEO lost 7 crores as a result of a skilfully constructed fraud that comprised fictitious legal papers as a victim of a digital arrest scam.
“The complexity of these scams means that even savvy individuals can be caught off guard,” she noted.
“The interplay between technology and awareness is vital in combating these emerging frauds,” she said.
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