{"id":823384,"date":"2025-05-12T10:47:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T08:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=823384"},"modified":"2025-05-12T11:06:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T09:06:46","slug":"ai-is-giving-phishing-attacks-an-edge-heres-how-to-fight-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/industry-news\/823384\/ai-is-giving-phishing-attacks-an-edge-heres-how-to-fight-back\/","title":{"rendered":"AI is giving phishing attacks an edge \u2013 here\u2019s how to fight back"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world \u2013 and cybercriminals are taking full advantage. Phishing, long a favourite tactic in the cybercrime playbook, has now been supercharged by AI, making it harder than ever to detect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even well informed and experienced individuals are being fooled by AI-enhanced scams that mimic real messages with alarming accuracy. And in South Africa, the impact is already visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to recent Kaspersky research<\/strong><\/a>, 67% of local businesses experienced phishing incidents in the last 12-months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This marks a sharp increase, with 29% more cyberattacks reported overall. What is more concerning is that 53% of local cybersecurity professionals expect AI-driven phishing attacks to grow significantly in the year ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arms race is no longer just between attackers and defenders \u2013 it is between machines, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why phishing is harder to spot now<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Historically, phishing attacks were easy to flag. For instance, these had poor grammar, generic messaging, or strange sender addresses that gave them away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But those tells are disappearing. With the help of generative AI and machine learning, cybercriminals can now generate emails that mirror a company\u2019s tone, branding, and even recent events \u2013 creating highly targeted scams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI does not just personalise; it scales. It can sift through thousands of public records, social media posts, and company updates to craft tailored messages for each recipient \u2013 from interns to CFOs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deepfake technology adds another layer of deception, with scammers able to impersonate executives in video calls or voicemails, urging staff to transfer funds or share credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional defences are not enough<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most corporate email filters were built to detect conventional threats, not AI-engineered messages. Criminals can now use AI to mimic safe email structures, tricking systems into letting dangerous content through. In fact, machine learning lets attackers test and refine these emails at scale \u2013 until they find what works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While awareness training has helped, AI phishing campaigns are still successful as they exploit psychology \u2013 urgency, fear, trust in authority \u2013 to override critical thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even experienced users can be caught off guard when a message looks exactly like it came from the CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A smarter, multi-layered defence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So how can South African businesses respond?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI must be met with AI. Kaspersky\u2019s AI and Cyber Defence<\/strong><\/em><\/a> global study found that 94% of cybersecurity professionals now see AI-enhanced tools as essential to defending against modern threats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But AI alone is not enough. The solution lies in combining smart tools with skilled people and resilient processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are four key steps businesses should consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Modernise your security stack<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tools like Kaspersky Next and Kaspersky Security for Mail Server use AI to detect suspicious patterns, prevent phishing attempts from reaching inboxes, and adapt to emerging threats in real time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These platforms can spot subtle anomalies \u2013 like slight changes in phrasing or metadata \u2013 that a human might miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Build a Zero Trust environment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zero Trust assumes no user or device should be trusted by default, even within the network perimeter. By limiting access to sensitive data, businesses can contain damage if a phishing attack succeeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Layered authentication, micro-segmentation, and real-time monitoring help enforce this model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Train for the AI age<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Security awareness training remains vital \u2013 but it must evolve. Kaspersky\u2019s Automated Security Awareness Platform is an example of a solution that continuously educates employees on identifying AI-enhanced threats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adaptive learning ensures that staff stay alert as attack methods evolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Close the skills gap with partnerships<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With 50% of organisations globally citing a shortage of cybersecurity talent, and 39% struggling to find the right expertise, many South African businesses are at risk simply because they cannot hire fast enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managed security services, like those offered by trusted cybersecurity providers, can bridge this gap and deliver enterprise-grade protection without the overhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road ahead<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AI is changing the threat landscape. Yet this same technology can also empower defenders. With AI-assisted threat hunting, real-time behavioural analysis, and faster incident response, cybersecurity teams can stay one step ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key is to act now \u2013 before AI-driven phishing causes extensive damage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our world \u2013 and cybercriminals are taking full advantage. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":823386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[1446],"class_list":["post-823384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-kaspersky"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823384"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":823751,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823384\/revisions\/823751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/823386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}