AI-Powered Social Engineering: Reinvented Threats
Feb 07, 2025
Artificial Intelligence / Cybercrime
The foundations for social engineering attacks – manipulating humans – might not have changed much over the years. It's the vectors – how these techniques are deployed – that are evolving. And like most industries these days, AI is accelerating its evolution. This article explores how these changes are impacting business, and how cybersecurity leaders can respond. Impersonation attacks: using a trusted identity Traditional forms of defense were already struggling to solve social engineering, the 'cause of most data breaches' according to Thomson Reuters. The next generation of AI-powered cyber attacks and threat actors can now launch these attacks with unprecedented speed, scale, and realism. The old way: Silicone masks By impersonating a French government minister, two fraudsters were able to extract over €55 million from multiple victims. During video calls, one would wear a silicone mask of Jean-Yves Le Drian. To add a layer of believability, they also sat in a rec...