Introduction
With the introduction of new technologies and advanced cyber security threat management systems, the internet is becoming secure, but on the other side, some new threats also emerged in the past few years which are more dangerous and hard to detect. Attackers have now changed their traditional ways of cyber attacks with the help of these new technologies. Scams And frauds have increased in recent times, creating new challenges for cyber security. In this article, a few emerging threats were discussed, including how it works and how it brings a negative impact on society. Be aware of these technologies and save yourself from being trapped in one of the threats.
Deepfakes and Deepfake Voice Technology
In this technology synthetic media where a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning techniques to create highly realistic digital manipulations. Deepfake voice technology, similarly, uses AI to create convincing audio imitations of a person's voice, enabling the generation of speech that sounds like it was spoken by the imitated individual.
How Does It Work?
Gather a large dataset of images or videos and audio recordings of the target individual. Then, there were various neural networks that were trained simultaneously. The generator creates fake images or videos, while the discriminator tries to distinguish between real and fake media and to replicate the nuances and patterns of the target voice. Over time, the generator improves, producing more convincing deepfakes as it learns to deceive the discriminator. The trained model can then generate new speech that mimics the target voice based on text input.
Negative Uses
Deepfakes can be used to spread false information, creating fake news or misleading content, and voice technology can be used to mimic voices for fraudulent activities, such as unauthorized access to secure systems or scamming individuals. It can also be used to create compromising or harmful content of individuals without their consent, leading to privacy violations and reputational damage.
Synthetic Identities
Synthetic identities involve the creation of fake identities using a combination of real and fictitious information. This concept is used in both legitimate and malicious ways, with the latter being a significant concern in cybersecurity and fraud prevention.
How Synthetic Identities are Created?
Synthetic identities often start with real information combined with fake details. This makes the identity seem legitimate. Fraudsters might build a credit history for the synthetic identity by adding it as an authorized user on real accounts, making it easier to secure credit in the future. Gaps in identity verification processes can be exploited to create and validate synthetic identities.
Malicious Uses
Criminals create synthetic identities to commit financial fraud, such as opening bank accounts, obtaining credit cards, and securing loans. It can be used in social engineering attacks, phishing scams, or other fraudulent schemes to deceive victims. Malicious actors might use synthetic identities for spying, infiltrating organizations, or other covert activities.
AI-Powered Cyber Attacks
AI-powered cyber attacks represent a new frontier in cybersecurity threats, where malicious actors leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance the scale, sophistication, and effectiveness of their attacks. These attacks can be more adaptive, stealthy, and difficult to detect compared to traditional methods.
Types of AI-Powered Cyber Attacks
- Automated Phishing
- Malware and Ransomware
- Deepfake Attacks
- Automated Vulnerability Scanning
- Adversarial AI
- Botnets and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks
Challenges
AI-powered attacks can adapt and evolve, making them harder to detect with traditional security measures. Developing and deploying AI-driven defenses can be resource-intensive, requiring significant investment in technology and expertise. The dual-use nature of AI technology raises ethical and legal concerns, as tools designed for legitimate purposes can be repurposed for malicious activities.
Cloud Jacking
Cloud jacking involves exploiting vulnerabilities in cloud computing environments to gain unauthorized access to cloud-based systems, data, or services. As more organizations move their operations to the cloud, cloud jacking has become a significant cybersecurity concern. This attack vector can lead to data breaches, service disruptions, and significant financial and reputational damage.
How Cloud Jacking Works?
Attackers obtain valid credentials through phishing, brute force attacks, or exploiting weak passwords. Once they have the credentials, attackers can access cloud services as legitimate users. Then, they search for misconfigured cloud settings, such as open storage buckets or improperly set permissions, which can provide attackers with entry points. Attackers scan for misconfigurations using automated tools. Then, they go for API exploitation. Cloud services often rely on APIs for communication. Vulnerabilities or weaknesses in these APIs can be exploited to gain unauthorized access. Attackers may use techniques like API key theft or parameter tampering. Disgruntled employees or contractors with access to cloud systems can intentionally misuse their access. Attackers can also try to exploit insider threats as they are challenging to detect due to the legitimate nature of their access. Attackers compromise third-party services or software integrated with the target cloud environment.
These attacks can provide indirect access to the primary cloud system.
Impact of Cloud Jacking
Unauthorized access to sensitive data can lead to data breaches, exposing personal, financial, or proprietary information. Attackers can disrupt cloud services, leading to downtime and loss of availability for critical applications. Cloud jacking can result in financial losses due to remediation costs, regulatory fines, and lost business. Organizations may suffer reputational harm, losing customer trust and business opportunities.
Conclusion
With time, technologies evolved, and cyber threats also developed, and this will continue to grow further. The only way to avoid this is to make yourself self and others aware of these new emerging threats and cyber attacks. The more awareness will spread the more we can minimize the damage from these attacks. Only aware people can make a safe internet environment for themself.