AI is the newest craze among companies looking for quick written or creative content. AI can generate an article, digital art, and captions in a matter of minutes. Sometimes the requested content comes out a little strange, but that’s to be expected from artificial intelligence, at least it used to be. 

AI is a tool that will only become better with time. While right now it may make a few recognizable mistakes, in the future it’s possible the work of an AI will be seamless. Hackers are already using this tool to make phishing even harder to recognize. To better understand how hackers can use AI, let’s look at what AI is and how it works.

What is AI?

AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. This means AI simulates intelligence as we see in humans, but instead of coming up with thoughts on its own, it is pulling from a database of information. AI may seem as though it is thinking, but it is mimicking what it sees from the database it pulls from. 

This gives off the perception that AI can write fully fledge papers, articles, and blog posts on a wide variety of topics. What it is actually doing is combining all the knowledge available to it into one finished piece. AI can usually write just as well as a person, which is how hackers are able to use it to perfect their phishing attempts.

How can Hackers use AI?

Hackers have started using AI to make phishing emails seem even more real. Previously when encountering a phishing attempt, one might be able to determine the email is fake by grammatical errors or misspellings. With AI writing phishing emails, hackers are fooling more and more unsuspecting people. This is why it’s important to use multiple strategies to check if an email is real.

How to Recognize Phishing Even if AI is Used

Even if an email is free of spelling and grammar errors, you can still do the following to make sure an email is not a phishing attempt.

• Hover your mouse over the email address and check for errors or unrecognizable addresses. Sometimes the email will be just one letter off in order to fool you.
• An unexpected request may be a sign someone is trying to phish you. If you are ever unsure about a request, call the person making the request to confirm.
• A request to enter personal information by clicking a link is always a bad sign. If you receive an email asking you to do this, don’t click on anything. Go directly to the website in question and check your account there.
• Ignore offers or prizes. If it seems too good to be true, it is. 
• If you receive an email with an attachment from an unfamiliar address, don’t click on it. It is probably malicious software.

The Bottom Line

It is important now more than ever to be aware of what phishing attempts can look like and how to avoid them. For more information on phishing, check out our previous article here.

If you need help determining if you’re being phished, contact your local IT company.

That’s all for this week. We’ll see you next time for Tech Tip Tuesday!