Scams have been around almost since the birth of the internet. And they have only gotten increasingly complex with time. Being a small business makes you a prime target for scams, including payment fraud, account hijacks, and data leaks. With generative AI becoming more capable, compromise is easier than ever.
Fortunately, there are ways to protect yourself. Connect to a quantum VPN to keep your online activities private and follow these tips. With AI raising the stakes, protecting your business is non-negotiable.
Table of Contents
Deepfakes
How it works
A deepfake is a synthetic image, video, or audio recording created or altered using AI. Commercially available technology can already make an astonishingly realistic copy of anybody’s voice, and AI-generated videos are growing more realistic by the day.
What to watch out for
A deepfake can be used to impersonate someone in a position of authority at your company. For example, someone in the accounts department might get a phone call from the CEO or company owner. They may be told to make a payment to someone, but that someone might turn out to be a scammer.
A firm in Hong Kong lost $25 million through a fake video conference where scammers impersonated the company’s CFO. For a small company, this can be absolutely devastating.
How to prevent it
- Train your staff to verify any unexpected payment requests. Provide them with the autonomy and freedom to question anything that seems suspicious.
- Use a secondary confirmation method. For example, you could decide that payment requests be followed up on via the internal company messaging system.
- Develop a no-blame culture. Make sure staff feel safe double-checking unusual instructions.
Account hijacks
How it works
Most of us are guilty of being lazy with our passwords. Small businesses, in particular, often reuse passwords across systems, which makes it simpler for multiple staff members to log in, but it also makes it easy for scammers.
What to watch out for
Online AI tools like FraudGPT are designed for scammers. They analyse company data to craft messages tailored to seem real, like an email from your IT person asking you to confirm your password to prevent a security breach.
AI can also create very convincing websites that look like your normal login page. Once a staff member logs in with their password, the scammers have it. If your security isn’t robust, attackers can access employee and client data, as well as online banking apps.
How to prevent it
- Require two-factor authentication on all key systems.
- Use a password manager to avoid reusing passwords.
- Regularly review account access and immediately revoke credentials for former employees.
Data leaks
How it works
Sometimes, even a small mistake can have the same devastating consequences as a targeted scam.
Your employees may already be using AI tools for various work tasks. However, AI often uses the data it is given to build its training dataset. If you or your employees use confidential information in an AI prompt, you lose control over that data.
It isn’t just speculation. Samsung learned this the hard way in 2023 when sensitive company information got leaked through employees using ChatGPT.
What to watch out for
Since this isn’t an attack from outside, it’s difficult to see it coming. The main thing is to make sure that your staff are aware of the dangers when using AI. You need a strong prompt policy in place to protect confidential data.
How to prevent it
- Set a clear company policy detailing what can and can’t be entered into AI platforms.
- Use fake data for testing and drafts.
- Regularly remind staff that client data is confidential and must be protected from AI.
Checklist to protect your business
Even if you don’t have a dedicated IT department, you can protect your business by focusing on daily behaviours:
- Keep your software updated—many attacks exploit old systems.
- Backup files to the cloud or external storage.
- Secure your Wi-Fi. If you need to use public Wi-Fi, connect to a VPN to encrypt your traffic.
- Enable two-factor authentication on company email and finance apps.
- Develop an AI use policy and share it with your staff.
- Implement a code word for authorizing payments.
Protecting your business against AI
AI presents new opportunities for your business, but it also comes with new threats. The tools scammers use are more sophisticated than ever, which means your security measures need to step up, too.
Implement this checklist and educate your staff on security measures to help you stay safe against AI-powered attacks.
