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Artificial intelligence is making everything easier, including cyberattacks. Over the past few years, the rise of generative AI (GenAI) has transformed social engineering, giving threat actors new, faster, more sophisticated ways to exploit their victims. The advent of AI has made cyberattacks more scalable, believable and tailored to their targets. In this new world, it’s important to understand the ways AI cyberthreats may show up and how to protect yourself and your business.
Phishing emails, fake tech support calls, and “CEO fraud” have been around since the beginning of the internet. But until recently there were obvious “red flags” or tells of these schemes including poor grammar, strange phrasing or an attempt to be personal without knowing anything about you. GenAI has changed all of that. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT make it easier to create smooth, error-free correspondence that sound professional and authentic. With a few prompts, an attacker can generate polished, personalized emails, craft professional LinkedIn bios, and even simulate realistic conversations in real time.
According to the National Cyber Security Center, ‘Phishing, Smishing, Vishing’ is when criminals use scam emails, text messages or phone calls to trick their victims. The aim is often to make you visit a website, which may download a virus onto your computer, or steal bank details or other personal information.
Phishing remains the most common form of social engineering, and GenAI makes it significantly more convincing. Threat actors may scour the internet, collect public and leaked data and create a targeted attack or clone of you.
AI tools may draft realistic messages based on what they find, sending you believable, human correspondence to try to get you to reveal important information.
When it comes to cyberthreats, help desks are particularly vulnerable. Why Help desks often assist with things like resetting passwords, recovering accounts, and restoring system access—making them a prime target for attackers. So, a threat actor enters with a goal of persuading the technician to reset passwords or multi-factor authentication (MFA) settings, handing over the keys to the organization.
What to watch for:
Tek Tip: Watch for calls outside normal business hours. Threat actors target “off hours” because there is usually less staff or fatigue at the late hour.
Threat actors may even go so far as to create deepfake videos of you targeting members of your family or workplace via email or phone. Cybercriminals use publicly available video footage to create realistic, deepfake videos with the goal of extorting money or information.
In some cases, threat actors create entire identities. Using deepfake images and videos, these criminals create fake LinkedIn profiles with work histories, headshots and endorsements. Fake candidates even interviewed for remote jobs using AI-assisted responses, reading from scripts. This technique not only helps infiltrate organizations but also establishes long-term insider access under false identities. As deepfake technology continues to advance, the ability to create synthetic employees, or even entire companies, will only grow more convincing.
It’s not just people being faked. Websites and customer service chatbots can now be cloned or fabricated using GenAI. Attackers can create phishing pages that perfectly mimic real login portals, complete with interactive chat support. These “helpful” bots manipulate users to enter credentials or financial information to perpetrate their fraud.
At its core, GenAI gives attackers an arsenal of new superpowers: scale, realism, personalization, speed and persistence.
Defending against AI-powered social engineering requires a combination of technology, training, and awareness. Here are a few red flags to watch for to keep you and your company safe.
Move toward contextual and behavioral verification. Implement out-of-band verification for password resets or account changes, such as requiring confirmation through a separate, secure channel or app.
Put AI on your side when it comes to cyberthreats. Defensive AI can help level the playing field, spotting subtle patterns that human analysts might miss. Use AI to:
Organizations must take a proactive role, educating employees on AI-assisted deception. Find a cybersecurity partner to help you implement training on how deepfakes sound, how cloned voices might behave, and how “too perfect” emails can still be fake. Conduct quarterly tests to ensure employees are staying up to date on cyberthreat awareness.
Encourage a culture where verification is expected of everyone. Even senior executives should be comfortable confirming identity via secondary methods before approving sensitive actions. Your help desk should feel empowered to ask for multi-layer verification no matter what.
Integrate AI-detection tools that scan inbound media for deepfake characteristics. Although these tools aren’t foolproof, they provide an additional layer of scrutiny for high-risk communications or transactions.
As organizations brace for 2026, the most effective cyber defense is a more informed employee. Awareness, healthy skepticism, and a culture of verification can put you ahead of the game when it comes to protecting your company. At CyTek we want to help your company stay ahead of evolving cyberthreats. Here’s what we do to protect your company:
Make a plan to implement AI defense strategies, employee training and help protect your sensitive information against GenAI-powered social engineering. Talk with your cybersecurity partner today.
