A new NCSC report predicts the threat of AI in terms of cyberattacks over the next two years. We need to be wary of ransomware and increased phishing through generative AI.

A recent report from the National Cyber ​​​​Security Center (NCSC) analyzes the impact of AI on the number and impact of cyberattacks over the next two years. Britain’s top intelligence agency has determined that ransomware will become one of the biggest threats in the coming years. Nation states, financially motivated criminals or novice criminals will increasingly be able to use AI to discover vulnerabilities in security systems and thus circumvent them. Other threats are also lurking around the corner.

An “almost certain” chance

The report estimates the likelihood that AI will increase the volume and impact of cyberattacks within the next two years is “almost certain.” These predictions cover, among other things, the opportunities for reconnaissance and social engineering, ransomware, the likelihood of major attacks against the UK or the power of generative AI for phishing.

Generative AI is already capable of creating misleading documents or conversations without detectable errors. This makes the threat of phishing even greater. NSA cybersecurity director Rob Joyce predicted two weeks before the report’s release that AI will help threat actors create convincing phishing documents.