According to a report from Trend Micro, cybercriminals have been more active in the half of 2023 than last year. The cybersecurity software company blocked over 85.6 billion global threats, including email, malicious files, and URLs. This represents a 27 percent increase compared to the year.
The reported threats consist of;
37 billion email threats
45.8 billion files
44.1 billion email reputation queries
2.1 trillion URL reputation queries
1.1 billion malicious URLs
1.1 trillion file reputation queries
In Canada, there has been a significant rise in attacks related to ransomware as a service, with Trend Micro successfully blocking around 394 million attempted email threats. This figure shows a growth of 24.6 percent compared to the previous year.
Regarding incidents specifically, Asia had the highest number of detections (55,282), followed by the Americas (16,929) and Europe (15,794).
In the news, the Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC) experienced a cyberattack that targeted their server hosting websites and application forms for Health Match BC (HMBC), the BC Care Aide and Community Health Worker Registry, and the Locums for Rural BC program.
The use of artificial intelligence in companies is contributing to the rise in cyber attacks, according to a report by Trend Micro. The study, which analyzed data from 500,000 clients and millions of consumers, found that the adoption of AI by organizations is making tasks easier for cybercriminals.
A previous poll by Reuters/Ipsos revealed that despite 22% of workers stating that their employers explicitly allow external tools like ChatGPT, as many as 28% still regularly use it at work.
As a result of this increased adoption of AI, the cybersecurity industry can anticipate a growing demand for fraud techniques capable of identifying identity-related threats. Cybercriminals also leverage AI technologies such as voice cloning, SIM jacking, ChatGPT, and social network analysis and propensities (SNAP) modeling to target and execute crimes efficiently. This trend will continue as more individuals and businesses embrace AI to streamline operations.
In cybersecurity today, achieving a balance between offense and defense in relation to AI is crucial. According to Tony Bradley, editor in chief of TechSpective writing for Forbes magazine, attackers can now strike with greater precision thanks to the emergence of generative AI technology.
However, according to a report, Mark Ryland, the Office of the CISO at Amazon Web Services (AWS) director, highlighted that security teams have two opportunities. The first is prevention, where AI can help speed decision-making and automate tasks. The second opportunity lies in defense, as AI-driven analytics can enhance threat detection capabilities.