Attackers using generative AI such as ChatGPT have increased social engineering attacks by 135% by adding text descriptions, punctuation and sentence length, according to a new study published by cybersecurity firm Darktrace.
The report studied more than 6,700 employees in the U.K., U.S., France, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands, and 82% were concerned that hackers could use generative AI to create fraudulent emails that were indistinguishable from real communications.
The report also notes that 30% of employees worldwide have been duped by fraudulent emails or text messages in the past. In addition, 87% are concerned that the amount of personal information provided online about them could be used for phishing and other email scams.
The frequency of fraudulent emails and text messages has increased by 70% in the past six months, and 79% of companies’ spam filters are incorrectly blocking important legitimate emails from reaching their inboxes.
The top three characteristics of the email consider to be a phishing attack are as follows:
- Emails that require users to click on a link or open an attachment (68%)
- From an unknown sender or unexpected content (61%)
- Improper use of spelling and grammar (61%)
