The threats of cybercrimes and fraudulent practices on the internet have been drastically increasing due to the expansive technological advancements online, such as the newer AI software like ChatGPT. Before, the danger was mainly restricted to those browsing dubious website or downloading questionable content; but now, everyone is at risk. Not just individuals, but companies as well. The most notorious amongst these is phishing. But what is phishing? It is an attack that is usually implemented via emails and intends to deceive the receiver into clicking on links in the emails and thus accessing a fraudulent website. This website can then assist criminals in stealing valuable information from the victim such as payment credentials or access to applications.
According to the report from Zscaler, phishing attacks have grown by half (50%) in the past year and for Miguel Lopez, the General Director of Barracuda Network (a cybersecurity company) this is an unavoidable result of a variety of factors, most importantly the consistent hike in digital transactions and the internet being increasingly used as a resource and service search engine by both companies and government agencies. Recently, teleworking, international generational tensions and conflicts have only contribute to making matters worse.
Another significant cause in the 50% increase in phishing attacks are the advancements of AI software like ChatGPT. This AI software allows criminals to construct phishing emails more quickly with higher success. For starters, the emails could be written in multiple languages with special images of higher quality on the emails to make the content more believable to the receiver.
It is clear that prevention against these cyber crimes is paramount in protecting users. This is why Miguel Lopez encourages all of us to be more aware of the risks of cybercrimes. He further advises companies and public organizations to constantly assess their cyber security levels and make sure it is up to date. In this need, users can take a Cybersecurity Master’s Degree from the IMF Smart Education and gain knowledge on topics like cyberintelligence, malware, ethical hacking or monitoring. Similarly, UNIR also offers a Master’s Degree in Cybersecurity to help users gain expertise with the most advanced tools in the Information security sector. The degree has the advantage of having a double certification and specialization in Industrial Cybersecurity as well.
