AI-Based Attacks , Fraud Management & Cybercrime , Fraud Risk Management

Insights APAC: Rising Fraud and Cyberattacks on AI Systems

Information Security Media Group's monthly series, "Insights APAC," explores insights from leading cybersecurity experts in the region on the most pressing cybersecurity risks, concerns and developments, including the state of cybercrime, nation-state attacks, payments fraud, government regulations and future trends in cybersecurity.

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In this episode, Kaushik Sinha, head of mobile systems and senior R&D director at Fujitsu Research India, and Kawin Boonyapredee, global chief strategy officer at Applied Quantum, discussed emerging cyberthreats to artificial intelligence systems and software, how organizations can use AI to combat cybercrime, why cyber scams and phishing attacks have exploded in the Asia-Pacific, and the steps organizations have taken to protect their systems and data.

"Malicious actors can exploit AI systems through methods like prompt injection to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. A typical attack scenario might involve accessing AI-generated output and reverse-engineering it to manipulate the underlying training data," Sinha said. He also warned about criminals using AI to commit identity-based social engineering attacks and often use malicious programs including WormGPT and FraudGPT to commit fraud.

Organizations must monitor their AI systems and maintain a risk score repository to measure their resilience to cyberattacks, he said. They must apply identity governance measures to prevent leaks, regularly log employee interaction with AI tools, and implement quality assurance processes to prevent data poisoning.

According to Boonyapredee, Asia has the highest smartphone penetration globally with over 90% of people owning one. This has led to a significant surge of financial scams and fraud in several countries in the region. This has made the region a gold mine for scammers who use various deceptive schemes, such as pig butchering scams, to con people out of their money.

He said banks and financial institutions are providing people with practical tips to be aware of various scams. In terms of technology, not only organizations but service providers have introduced advanced measures to protect their users. They are taking a layered approach to hardening their systems to prevent attackers from penetrating their systems or moving laterally.

In this panel discussion, Sinha; Boonyapredee; Suparna Goswami, associate editor; and Jayant Chakravarti, senior editor, discussed:

• Why organizations must maintain risk score repositories for AI systems;
• Why Asia has become a gold mine for the cyber fraud industry;
• The growing role of cyber psychology amid a rise in phishing scams.

Sinha has extensive experience working in leading wireless technology R&D organizations including Nokia, Mavenir and HFCL 5G R&D. Prior to joining Fujitsu Research, he led global teams for wireless technology product R&D in the U.K., Finland, Bangalore, and Manila.

Boonyapredee has 25 years of experience across business management, IT and security roles, with expertise in building and optimizing information security programs worldwide. He has previously held executive and security leadership positions at companies including IBM, Gojek and Inypay.

"Insights APAC" runs monthly. Don't miss our upcoming episodes for the latest cybersecurity developments across the Asia-Pacific region.