How AI tools are Changing the Nature of Cyber Attacks

AI’s Role in Modern Cyber Attacks

Artificial intelligence (AI) cyber attacks are the top concern for 80% of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) polled by BCG in 2025. Cyber criminals use AI to orchestrate increasingly sophisticated and targeted attacks, making them more challenging to detect and thwart.

Today, even less skilled hackers can leverage generative AI (GenAI) models to create malware, set up a social engineering attack, or craft legit-looking phishing emails through a simple prompt.

The result? AI cyber security attacks have become so accessible and easy to scale that, in 2024, they have affected 87% of businesses polled by SoSafe. Nevertheless, businesses that understand the ins and outs of this fast-evolving threat are better equipped to detect, prevent, and respond to such attacks.

Time to dive in and learn more about this technology and its impact on cyber security. We will explore how AI is being weaponised by attackers in unprecedented ways, powering faster, smarter cyber attacks, and why defensive AI is your best shield against them.

How AI Tools Are Evolving Attack Strategies

The latest UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) assessment on the impact of AI on cyber threats shows that by 2027, there will be a constant surge of AI-driven cyber attacks, increasing in speed and scale.

However, even now, businesses are already facing a race against time to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities before cyber criminals exploit them. Thus, being able to manage an increasingly expanding attack surface and keep pace with the advancements of AI capabilities is something they can’t do without.

The malicious exploitation of AI is in full bloom. Threat actors now use algorithms that can automatically change to evade detection and carry out complex AI cyber attacks using different methods, such as:

• Automated, convincing phishing. IBM demonstrated that AI can generate a credible phishing email in 5 minutes. Humans need an average of 16 hours. AI tools utilise machine learning (ML) to process vast amounts of data. That allows them to craft highly personalised and persuasive phishing emails, text messages, phone calls, or social media posts incredibly fast. The effectiveness of these outputs is so impressive that they can fool even the most experienced users. Additionally, AI tools let scammers deploy chatbots that impersonate customer service representatives, facilitating the theft of personal data or account login details.
• Polymorphic malware and ransomware. This category of malware dynamically alters its code structure, behaviour, or signature to evade detection. As a result, conventional signature and behaviour-based anti-virus systems are ineffective, since they fail to recognise the threat. Polymorphic malware can take various forms. For instance, adaptive ransomware such as Win32/VirLock utilises AI algorithms to learn from a target’s defensive mechanisms. It then adjusts its strategies in real-time to bypass security measures and successfully encrypt a victim’s data.
• Fast vulnerability exploitation. The speed at which AI-driven cyber attacks can abuse vulnerabilities often exceeds that of traditional cyber security defenses. Attackers can swiftly and accurately pinpoint and exploit weaknesses, leaving organisations scrambling to respond. Thanks to automation, AI tools can rapidly identify weaknesses within a system and launch an attack even before your cyber security team has the chance to patch them.

As offensive AI continues to evolve, businesses must prioritise the development of innovative detection, prevention and response mechanisms. Otherwise, without rapid adaptation and innovation in their cyber security practices, businesses risk falling victim to increasingly sophisticated and evasive AI-driven attacks.

New Weapons in AI-Driven Cyber Attacks

In 2024, a Hong Kong multinational finance employee was tricked into transferring over $25 million during a fraudulent video conference call. The scammer utilised deepfake AI-based technology to pose as the company’s chief financial officer (CFO) based in the UK.

AI tools have emerged as a powerful weapon for cyber criminals, significantly improving their social engineering techniques. Malicious actors use these tools to craft emails with persuasive language, mimic voices, or even generate synthetic videos. It is the perfect storm for deception. Let’s dig deeper into some of the most common AI cyber attacks and techniques.

The Rise of AI-Based Social Engineering Tactics

• Tailored phishing.

Gone are the days of generic phishing emails sent to hundreds or thousands of people, hoping to trick some into entering their credentials into phony websites or disclosing valuable information. Now, threat actors employ AI to generate highly personalised messages that are almost indistinguishable from genuine communication.

For instance, AI can craft emails that reflect your personal interests, language style and even recent transactions or purchases you made. This level of sophistication significantly increases the likelihood of a successful attack. Recipients may be lulled into a false sense of security when they receive what they perceive as legitimate information.

• Spear-phishing.

Spear-phishing takes this threat a step further.

By leveraging AI to extract data from social media and corporate websites, attackers generate hyper-realistic messages. These emails exploit existing trust and relationships at both an individual and organisational level, leading to potentially catastrophic breaches.

In fact, this type of AI cyber attack is so effective that a 2024 study demonstrated that a single AI-based spear-phishing attack fooled 54% of the targeted victims.

• Business email compromise (BEC).

BEC, such as CEO fraud and email account compromise (EAC), are other examples of common AI-based cyber attacks where the criminals use emails to steal businesses’ assets.

But the danger doesn’t stop at text and messages. AI tools have paved the way for the creation of realistic audio and video impersonations, such as:

• AI Deepfakes.

AI tools generate synthetic video, images and audio that appear so authentic that one-quarter of PLOS One survey participants were unable to distinguish the deepfake audio samples.

Imagine the damage it could do to your business if a threat actor were to use this technology to carry out an AI attack similar to the one perpetrated against the Hong Kong company we mentioned earlier.

These sophisticated impersonations of CEOs or executives can erode the inherent trust within business environments, leaving businesses vulnerable to manipulation. A single misstep, such as an employee clicking on a suspicious link or transferring funds based on a deceptive video message, can lead to devastating financial and reputational consequences.

Scaling, Speed and Automation

AI tools are accelerating the pace of cyber attacks. Autonomous AI agents are making them faster, smarter and extremely difficult to detect. Consequently, AI cyber attacks are more destructive than ever.

Cyber criminals are no longer confined to slow, manual reconnaissance methods. They are now able to automate the entire attack process and orchestrate complex attacks in seconds, leveraging AI features such as:

• Automation. AI tools can execute thousands of actions simultaneously and at lightning speed, such as running vulnerability scans, testing stolen credentials and crafting phishing emails. For instance, a hacker can use an AI-based credential stuffing attack to compromise accounts before your team manually detects any anomaly.
• Real-time morphing. Through ML, AI can analyse and bypass your business’s defenses on the fly. Suppose you feel secure because you have implemented a brand-new anomaly detection system. AI tools enable malware to easily circumvent such systems and any rate-limiting, CAPTCHA, or signature-based anti-viruses.
• Scalability. AI cyber attacks, such as ransomware and data exfiltration, amplify their scope and impact by their ability to target millions of vulnerable endpoints or users at once. Thus, while you are busy patching your desktops and mobile devices, attackers exploit the weaknesses of your Internet of Things (IoT) to gain unauthorised access to your network and move laterally.

That means that rather than targeting a handful of systems over an extended period, cyber criminals can launch massive, coordinated strikes that compromise entire networks in no time.

The result is a flood of high-volume attacks, overwhelming traditional defense mechanisms that are not equipped to handle such rapid and extensive threats.

Furthermore, cyber criminals can now operate from anywhere. AI tools allow them to unleash automated attacks across multiple regions almost instantaneously. Thus, businesses must defend against threats not only from their immediate surroundings but from a global network of AI-savvy malicious actors.

AI Cyber Attacks and the Issue With Legacy Systems

Businesses that rely on older, legacy systems often lack the agility and responsiveness to fend off sophisticated AI cyber attacks. Moreover, as technology rapidly evolves, outdated infrastructures are usually unable to support the latest security protocols.

As a result, businesses remain exposed and vulnerable to most AI cyber attacks that may lead to significant data breaches, financial losses and reputational damage.

To avoid being overwhelmed by high-volume AI cyber attacks, businesses must embed AI-based weapons in their cyber security strategies. Advanced AI tools can help you detect and respond to threats rapidly, adapting in real-time to the changing tactics employed by cyber criminals.

Additionally, by investing in next-generation cyber security frameworks that incorporate ML tools, you can gain the necessary insights to anticipate attacks before they happen.

Defensive AI: A Game Changer Solution

As we have seen, with the advent of AI, phishing, spear-phishing and BEC have evolved into far more potent threats that undermine the trust essential to organisational operations.

The good news is that a well-thought-out proactive approach can empower your cyber security team to detect anomalies, analyse complex patterns, and respond to incidents with unmatched speed and efficiency.

The Crucial Role of AI in Cyber Security

As cyber threats evolve, the role of the following AI-based defensive tools and their adaptation to new pitfalls is fundamental for a business’s cyber security strategy.

• AI-based anomaly detection. Train your AI systems to discern between standard and suspicious user behaviour. Use it to monitor data traffic and user activities. AI will swiftly identify and flag anomalies, so that potential breaches are investigated without delay.
• AI pattern analysis. Cyber security professionals have to deal with vast amounts of data, making the manual identification of patterns extremely challenging. Leverage AI algorithms, particularly those based on ML. By analysing massive amounts of historical data, they help you identify trends and recurring threats, enabling your teams to address vulnerabilities before the worst happens.
• AI predictive analytics. AI can process diverse data sources fast. Once implemented, predictive analytics will let you anticipate potential issues. This proactive stance allows you to tailor your strategies based on behavioural insights and anticipated attack vectors.
• AI behavioural monitoring. AI boosts your monitoring capabilities further by evaluating your users’ behaviour in real-time. If a user’s activity deviates from the established patterns, the
• AI systems will trigger an alert. That is particularly useful in identifying insider threats or compromised accounts.
• AI automated incident response. When a threat is detected, the sooner you respond, the smaller the risk of damage will be. AI tools’ automated response mechanisms can initiate predefined protocols, such as isolating the affected system, deploying and installing patches, or blocking suspicious IP addresses. These steps reduce the need for human intervention and mitigate potential harm.

Use Cases for Defensive AI

Several practical applications of defensive AI showcase its effectiveness in protecting businesses from AI-driven cyber attacks.

1. AI-Driven SIEM. By integrating AI capabilities into your business’s Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions, you can process massive volumes of data, correlate events in real time and achieve precise threat detection. This results in more accurate threat detection, fewer false positives and faster incident response.
2. Healthcare industry. In the healthcare sector, AI plays a crucial role. ML and generative AI protect sensitive patient health information (PHI) by identifying unusual access patterns and alerting administrators about potential breaches. It also helps ensure compliance with regulations such as the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
3. Financial services. AI tools revolutionise fraud detection by analysing transaction patterns instantaneously, identifying phishing messages and facilitating cyber risk assessments. Leveraging machine learning, these tools evolve continuously with new data inputs, minimising the risk of financial loss.
4. Critical infrastructure protection. If your business is part of the energy and utilities sectors, AI monitors systems for signs of unusual activity. When needed, it isolates the affected system to avoid propagation of the threat. That empowers businesses to respond swiftly to security breaches and protect vital services.

As the threat landscape becomes more intricate, integrating defensive AI into your cyber security infrastructure is no longer a mere recommendation. It is a necessity that prioritises innovation and preventive action. In addition, by embedding AI tools into your cyber security frameworks, you can significantly bolster your business’s defenses and achieve unwavering resiliency.

Preparing for AI-Powered Threats

Understanding future potential threats and proactively preparing for them is essential for developing an effective defense strategy.

Emerging trends include:

• Self-learning malware. This malware adapts its behaviour to each system it targets, making detection and mitigation even more difficult.
• Adversarial AI. This technique allows hackers to manipulate ML models tricking cyber security systems into misclassifying threats as benign. When successful, it can compromise AI-based defensive algorithms and erode trust in AI-based tools.
• Large scale disinformation campaigns. As AI models improve, distinguishing between truth and deception becomes increasingly challenging. Cyber criminals can automate the creation of false narratives and spread misinformation quickly through social media, sowing distrust among the general public.

As the battlefield between defenders and attackers becomes increasingly dominated by AI technologies, businesses should adopt a comprehensive strategy that includes:

• Enforcing robust regulations. Implement regulations and policies that govern AI development and deployment to prioritise security and accountability.
• Promoting ethical AI Practices. The potential of intended or unintended misuse of AI tools is significant and can badly harm your business reputation. Create an AI ethics framework that encompasses data management to ensure privacy and security, and the auditing of AI models for bias.
• Building strategic partnerships. Collaborate with cyber security and AI experts such as Acora to gain invaluable insights and expertise. It will ensure a successful navigation of this complex landscape and contribute to incrementing defenses against emerging threats.
• Adopting proactive solutions. Don’t wait for an incident to start implementing security measures. Deploying AI-driven security tools will significantly enhance threat detection, automate response processes and reduce response times.

Needless to say, as AI cyber attacks become more prevalent, the proactive adoption of AI-powered protection tools has never been more critical.

The stakes are high, but Acora can help your business to integrate advanced AI solutions successfully into your cyber security strategies. Contact our experts today to strengthen your defenses and face future challenges with confidence.