Who is this for?

This article is for solopreneurs and small business owners with 10 (or fewer) employees or contractors who primarily sell digital products online. Many of the business owners we work with have customers, employees, and vendors who are located in different worldwide locations.

The Dark Side of AI

Technology today is moving at a breakneck speed and the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools has changed the game. For many overworked and under-resourced solopreneurs and small business owners, AI is blessing. AI is helping alleviate businesses biggest problems including automating processes, improving efficiency, and analyzing large datasets.

Unfortunately, cyber criminals have also embraced the power of AI. In fact, they've started weaponizing AI to conduct highly sophisticated, targeted, and efficient attacks on businesses just like yours.

How Criminals are Leveraging AI Against Your Business

Below are three of the most common ways cyber criminals are using AI to break into your small business as well as steps you can take to protect your business.

#1 AI-Powered Phishing Attacks: Smarter & More Convincing

Phishing attacks, fraudulent emails hoping to trick people into clicking on malicious links or revealing sensitive information, have been around for years. They have often been easy to spot due to poorly writing and suspicious email addresses. But AI has changed the game.

AI now allows cyber criminals to generate and send highly convinced and targeted phishing emails at scale. These emails can mimic your brand's language, logos, and tone. They can even scrape social media and public data to personalize attacks, including addressing the recipient by name or a referencing specific company projects.

Real-world scenario: Cofense, a global leader in phishing defense, has reported a massive rise in AI-generated phishing emails that mimic company executives with alarming accuracy.

What you can do: Be cautious of emails from employees, partners, or vendors that include unexpected financial or access requests. Also, be wary of links or attachments you weren't expecting. Always verify through another method, like a phone call, to confirm the email is from that person. Ensure your employees are trained to spot unusual requests or attachments and know to follow up to verify.

#2 AI-Powered Deepfake: Convincing Employee & Vendor Impersonations

Deepfake technology, which uses AI to create highly realistic audio, video, or images of real people, has become a viable tool for cyber criminals to exploit businesses.

These attacks often involve criminals impersonating high-level executives, business partners, vendors, or other employees in video calls or phone conversations. Typically the attack focuses on getting the target to take a specific action, such as moving money or providing previously approved access.

Real-world scenario: In 2024, fraudsters used deepfake technology to steal $25 million from a finance worker in Hong Kong. The employee thought that he was videoconferencing with his CFO, but the videos were fake.

What can you do:

1. Be cautious of any unexpected financial requests, especially if they come via phone or video call. Always verify by using a different method, like ending the call and contacting the person directly. Make sure your employees are trained to recognize unusual financial or access requests from coworkers, vendors, or even you.

2. You can combine #1 with the implementation of "safe words". These words or phrases should be discussed ahead of time and used to help validate the person you are talking to. Don't post them anywhere online.

#3 AI-Bots: Launching Automated Attacks

Automation has long been a key component of cyber attacks, but AI has upped the stakes. AI-driven bots can launch automated attacks at scale. This means they can scan thousands of businesses for vulnerabilities faster than any human. These vulnerabilities can then be exploited to gain access to the business.

These bots can continuously refine their scan and attack approach, learning from failed attempts to improve their success rate.

Of particular importance to small business owners is an attacked called credential stuffing. AI bots use stolen username and password combinations from previous data breaches to try and access accounts. Since many users reuse passwords across multiple sites, the bots can often find a match and gain unauthorized access to your business systems.

Real-world scenario: Chik-fil-A notifies 71,000 customers that their accounts have been compromised in a two-month-long credential stuffing campaign. The attackers gained accessed to the fast food company through an employee account.

What you can do:

1. Get a password manager (here are our recommendations). This will allows you to easily use strong, unique passwords across dozens of websites that can be changed quickly.

2. Implement 2-factor authentication (2FA) for all your logins. Even if a bot has the correct password, 2FA adds an extra layer of prevention, making it much harder for criminals to gain access to your logins. Even a simple text code means you're not low-hanging fruit for attackers.

Summary & Next Steps

AI is a double-edged sword for solopreneurs and small business owners. While it is an incredible gift for productivity, it has given cyber criminals a powerful tool to execute more convincing, efficient, and damaging attacks at scale. Fortunately, being forewarned means being forearmed. By understanding the risks and taking steps to protect your business, you can avoid the costly mistake of being another small business statistic.

What Else Can You Do to Protect Your Business?

With the increased sophistication of cyber criminals, it is more important than ever to invest in protecting your small business from attacks. That's why we created Small Business Owner security Survival Guides. They are simple, easy-to-follow instructions that show you how to:

• Prevent cyber attacks before they happen and

• Quickly recover if you do get hacked

No jargon and no technical expertise required. Simple business security that works. Click here to get yours.

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