Cybercriminals use artificial intelligence to assess attack strategies, significantly increasing their chances of success. It also amplifies their attacks’ speed, scale, and reach. For example, hackers now use AI to create convincing phishing campaigns in nearly any language or fully automated, agile, and effective DDoS. Fortunately, just as cybercriminals use AI to enhance attacks, businesses, and security professionals can deploy it to fortify their defenses
Reuters recently reported massive losses that German companies suffered from cybercrime last year. The national corporate sector lost an estimated €267 billion ($298 billion). This marks a 29% increase from the previous year. Over 80% of data breaches involved customer information, access credentials, passwords, and intellectual property such as patents.
These figures underscore the gravity of the situation, particularly in a nation that ranks among the world’s largest economies. The global nature of the threat was highlighted in April 2024, when the FBI released its annual Internet Crime Report and revealed that cybercrime-related losses in the U.S. totaled $12.5 billion in 2023—that is a $2 billion increase from the previous year and more than triple the amount reported in 2019. Moreover, it is estimated that the average cost of a data breach for SMEs can range from $120,000 to $1.24 million (€110,000 to €1.15 million). And this year, the cost of cyberattacks overall might exceed $10 trillion (€9.3 trillion) globally.
There’s no question that AI plays a role in growing cybersecurity threats. This rapidly advancing technology, now making strides across a wide range of sectors—from business to healthcare—has, as is often the case, also been weaponized by criminals. In May 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in San Francisco even issued a stark warning to the public about the increasing threat posed by cybercriminals leveraging AI technologies.
According to the FBI, malicious actors use them to clone voices and identities of trusted individuals, including family members, co-workers, and business partners. They also enable criminals to craft convincing, highly targeted automated campaigns that are more effective than ever before.
On the positive side, there are ways to use AI for good. Here is how:
1. Automate threat detection and response
One of the most critical applications of AI in cybersecurity is its ability to monitor network traffic, user behavior to detect anomalies and signs of activity that deviate from established patterns. This capability allows AI-powered defense systems to identify threats such as DDoS—an increasingly prevalent form of cybercrime—much faster than traditional methods.
When a potential threat is identified, AI can instantly respond by triggering automated actions. These actions include isolating compromised systems, notifying security teams, or even neutralizing the threat in real-time. This approach can prevent any threat from escalating, saving businesses and organisations from significant damage and downtime.
Thanks to that, AI models achieve security accuracy rates between 80% and 92%, significantly outperforming traditional signature-based malware detection systems, which typically manage only 30% to 60%, recent statistics show. That can lead to great savings. According to the report by IBM, businesses can suffer $2.2 million less in breach costs if they use AI compared to those without it in prevention workflows.
2. Showcase vulnerabilities
To prevent software vulnerabilities is as crucial as it is to detect and respond to cyber threats. Even a small security gap in the software used by employees can result in millions of dollars in losses to cybercriminals.
One effective way for companies to enhance their security is by integrating AI-powered scanning tools into their product development processes. These tools can automatically check code for common flaws before the software is deployed, catching vulnerabilities early. Unlike traditional methods that require hours of manual effort to find and fix these issues, AI solutions can accomplish this in minutes.
There are now even AI-powered solutions like DeepCode (now part of Snyk) or the popular GitHub Copilot that help software engineers create and review code while testing for vulnerabilities.
Furthermore, AI can prioritize vulnerabilities based on their potential impact, allowing businesses to focus their limited resources on addressing the most critical threats first. This ensures a more secure environment without overwhelming security operations teams and going over budget.
3 Boost threat prediction
AI can quickly analyze vast amounts of data from sources like threat reports, social media, and the dark web. By correlating this information with known attack patterns, it can predict potential threats before they materialize. For instance, it can identify new malware variants, zero-day vulnerabilities, or sophisticated phishing tactics, enabling businesses to enhance their defenses proactively. Additionally, AI leverages predictive analytics to help organizations anticipate and mitigate risks based on historical data.
Final tips
Apart from recognizing potential threats and adapting cutting-edge technologies, there are a few general rules to keep your business protected:
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Ensure that you conduct regular security audits and assessments. This should cover aspects such as cloud infrastructure, software update status, user permissions, and the overall effectiveness of perimeter control.
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Regular training should be provided to members of the security team to help them recognize and counteract threats like DDoS.
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Back up your data to stay safe and prevent operational disruptions.
