Interpol says AI boosts speed, scale of cyber threats. What to watch
Interpol warns that artificial intelligence is primarily increasing the speed and scale of existing cyber threats rather than creating entirely new criminal methods. Security experts advise businesses to identify critical assets and tailor defenses based on specific threat intelligence rather than attempting to protect against everything.
Why it matters
This perspective shifts the focus of corporate cybersecurity from reactive panic to strategic, asset-based defense against AI-enhanced fraud.
Artificial intelligence enables cyber threats by enhancing existing criminal tactics such as scams and fraud, according to Interpol.
AI is enhancing existing criminal techniques rather than revolutionizing them, Bjorn R. Watne, global chief information security officer at Interpol, told CNBC on the sidelines of Tech Week Singapore on Thursday. Scam operators can use AI to target multiple victims simultaneously, while improved translation and digital identities are making it increasingly difficult to distinguish fraudulent interactions from real ones.
"It's an evolution and not a revolution," Watne said, adding that AI is primarily increasing the "speed and scale" of existing techniques.
As cyber threats evolve, companies should prioritize protective actions, according to Watne.
Instead, businesses should first identify their "crown jewels," the assets most critical to keeping their operations running, and determine who would be most interested in stealing or disrupting them.
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