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AI developments have fuelled '20% jump in hacking attempts'

/ 7th January 2025 /
Cormac Cahill

An Irish cybersecurity firm says the rapid advancement of AI has fuelled a "20% jump in hacking attempts targeting critical infrastructure, such as energy grid, utility, healthcare and educational organisations over the past year".

Research from Smarttech247 shows that AI is enabling cybercriminals to execute more sophisticated, faster, and harder-to-detect attacks, posing significant risks to essential services worldwide. 

The company has released its findings as it launches its annual cybersecurity conference, Zero Day Con, which will take place on March 11 at the Convention Centre Dublin. 

According to the research, the increase in cyber attacks must be a wake up call for businesses of any size that have yet to understand and take steps to guard against the potential impact of an attack. 

Smarttech247 CEO Raluca Saceanu says: “The most high profile incident of this kind in Ireland - targeting  the health service - happened almost four years ago and it’s crucial that other organisations learned from that and other experiences that are happening around the world every day. We work to support organisations as they focus on staying one step ahead of cybercriminals and we encourage them to see this as an essential part of their operations.”

Business Bulletin

The experts at Smarttech247 have also detected a 73% increase in hacking attempts that bypass multi-factor authentication, using ‘Adversary-in-The-Middle’ attacks.

These position the hacker between a victim and a legitimate site, for example by mimicking a log-in portal, and then use the username and password entered by the victim to gain access to all the information contained in the account.

Looking ahead to 2025, Ms Saceanu says one of the top issues facing businesses and their data security teams is how AI can amplify so-called ‘insider’ threats: 

“AI’s increasing presence in the workplace is redefining the nature of insider threats. Generative AI tools, such as those used for content creation, code development, or report generation, bring productivity gains but also new risks. Employees, either intentionally or inadvertently, may misuse these tools to access or expose sensitive information.

“The improper adoption of these tools—particularly without clear data classification, access controls, and AI system oversight will leave organisations vulnerable to significant risks, including data leaks, regulatory fines, and escalated security threats”.

The role of AI in the cybersecurity landscape will be among the main topics discussed at Zero Day Con in Dublin this March.

Ahead of the event, the team at Smarttech247 is sharing five top tips for businesses to equip them to deal with these concerns in 2025:

1. Draft and enforce an AI Usage programme: Establish clear policies governing the use of AI tools across the organisation, and ensure you have adequate employee training, to prevent accidental data exposure.

2. Protect sensitive data: Use access controls to restrict what data can be processed by AI systems and who can interact with these tools.

3. Be vigilant: Integrate solutions to monitor and secure data across AI environments, ensuring real-time detection of leaks or misuse.

4. Test the system: Regularly assess AI systems for vulnerabilities, compliance gaps, and data security risks. Ensure your use of AI complies with regulatory requirements, in order to avoid penalties.

5. Plan for the future: Develop frameworks that oversee the lifecycle of AI systems - from procurement and deployment to monitoring and decommissioning - to ensure accountability and security.

Hacking attempts 
AI
Zero Day Con will take place on March 11 at the Convention Centre Dublin

Zero Day Con will take place on March 11 at the Convention Centre Dublin.

The theme for this year’s event is ‘Converge’ - signifying the combination of three important topics for discussion - AI, resilience and data security.

Speakers confirmed to date include Neal Mullen, Chief Information Security Officer with the  HSE, Richard Browne, Director of the National Cyber Security Centre, Gina McIntyre, CEO of the EU Special Projects Body, Greg Scovel, Deputy Director of Operations at NCIS in the US and Ronan Murphy, who is Executive Chairman of Smarttech247 and a member of the Irish government’s AI Advisory Council. 

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