Elaborate phishing scams are already a massive problem that continue to cost organizations thousands of dollars as a result of employees clicking on malicious links or sending money to someone claiming to be their boss. Thanks to technological advances in AI, there is a new threat to look out for, vishing (voice phishing), that allows criminals to mimic the voices of employee supervisors and demand large transfers of money from employees, passwords, or other critical information. A recent thenextweb.com article discussed a situation in which $243,000 was transferred to cybercriminals from a CEO thinking he was speaking with his boss who worked at a parent company.
Back in March, a CEO of a UK-based energy firm received a call from whom he believed to be his boss at a German parent company requesting a prompt wiring of $243,000 to a Hungarian supplier. The cybercriminals had used voice-generating AI software to mimic the German accent of the British CEO’s boss, which lead the unsuspecting chief executive to proceed to wire the money. It was only after a second request to wire more money that the executive became suspicious, refused, and alerted authorities.
This isn’t the last time this will happen. With the improvement of voice mimicking software comes more opportunities for criminals to exploit their capabilities. If you have any questions or concerns related to cybersecurity, vishing, or phishing, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 571-370-5777 or visit our cybersecurity division’s website at www.perusity.com.
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