During the summer months of 2023 there was a rise in cyber threats. Adware, malvertising, spyware and various malicious activities became more prevalent during this period. Avast, a cybersecurity company reported a number of over a billion monthly attacks. This change in trends can be attributed to the increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by cybercriminals, which has made their attacks more effective and accessible. Jakub Kroustek, Avasts Director of Malware Research expressed surprise at these research findings. Emphasized how traditional patterns of cyber threat seasonality have become obsolete due to the widespread adoption of AI and advanced tools by cybercriminals.
Although the types of threats remain consistent some new innovations have been observed. For instance there is a malware variant called “Invisible Adware” that has been downloaded over two million times from the Google Play Store. This malware allows threat actors to display ads on devices even when the screen is off potentially leading to battery drain or even the installation of malware without the users awareness. Another noteworthy development is “Love GPT,” an AI powered tool that creates profiles on popular dating apps. Financial scams are also on the rise, with Japan experiencing a 19% increase Greece observing a 17% increase and the US facing a 14% increase.
The use of famous personalities like Elon Musk, Mr. Beast and Donald Trump is very common in these fraudulent schemes. The report emphasizes the changing nature of risks, which are increasingly influenced by the utilization AI technology, into malicious endeavors.
