Not a classic topic for a digital marketing trade show and yet highly relevant to every one of us: at dmexco, Kurt Laabs, CIO, and Julius Bauer, Head of Business Development, of ePrivacy delivered a masterclass titled “AI as a Cyber Weapon – How the Digital Economy Can Protect Itself Against Autonomous Attacks”.
A live hacking case made it clear: the use of AI is making cyberattacks significantly more efficient, more professional, and far more frequent. According to the BSI-Threat Report, more than 80% of reported cybercrime attacks target small and medium-sized enterprises.
Key takeaways
- New attack vectors through AI: agent-to-agent attacks, prompt injection, system prompt exfiltration, tool and agent abuse, as well as phishing and deepfakes such as CEO fraud
- Rising damage costs: the cost per data breach is increasing significantly – social engineering remains the most common initial attack vector
- Risk of local AI models: they often have fewer safeguards in place, lowering the barrier to entry for attackers
- Penetration testing as an early warning system: simulated attacks for targeted vulnerability detection are becoming increasingly important
- Essentials for SMEs: training and awareness, clear AI policies, consistent access controls, regular penetration testing, and an incident response plan
The contents of the masterclass are available upon request.
If you’re not sure where to start: feel free to reach out to us.