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Cybercriminals are using AI technology

According to official data, in Russia cybercrime grew tenfold over the past six years. Cybercriminals are increasingly interested in corporate and personal data, especially bank accounts. The financial sector is the main victim of cybercrime.

Last week Sberbank took part in a session at the Russian Investment Forum titled ‘Is Russia Prepared for New Challenges in Cyberspace?’, official web page reported. Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank Stanislav Kuznetsov commented that over the past two-and-a-half years, many new cybersecurity initiatives have been proposed. However, the government and the business community are always half a step behind the cybercriminals. He added that Russia started taking a serious approach to cybersecurity in 2016, when for the first time the damage caused by cybercrime was recognised (in 2016 businesses around the world lost a total of $445 bln). The Russian government held a meeting that set out new approaches to this problem.

Hackers caused a trillion dollars’ worth of damage in 2017, and one-and-a-half trillion dollars in damages in 2018. The impact, frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks have all grown due to more frequent use of fraudulent systems and AI, added Kuznetsov. Neither businesspeople nor law enforcement agencies were ready for this widespread use of AI. Now AI is actively used in combination with such methods as social engineering.

 “Our anti-fraud centre blocks around 96-97% of theft attempts, but it’s practically impossible to fight against so-called ‘self-transfers’ – when clients are tricked into voluntarily sending money to cybercriminals. 85% of cases where money is lost is a result of self-transfers,” Stanislav Kuznetsov noted.

 

 

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