Part of what the company has described as being an “artificial intelligence (AI) arms race” it has warned that hackers are becoming more sophisticated and are increasingly looking to weaponise AI for cybercrime.
BT’s digital surveillance of its networks suggest that there has been a 1,200% increase in new malicious scanning “bots” attempting to access systems in the last year. These are ‘one time use’ disposable bots that are used to evade existing security measures and are used to scan for vulnerabilities.
BT’s data also showed that web-connected devices are scanned over 1,000 times a day, with 78% being malicious suggesting that hackers are looking for weaknesses in online systems.
Among the sectors most under threat are IT, defence, and financial services but BT said that retail, education and hospitality are also becoming increasingly popular target for hackers.
The issue of cybersecurity is dominated by AI and its use, both in terms of deployment by companies and organisations but also as a means to break defences by hackers.
According to Anna Collard, SVP of Strategy and Evangelist at KnowBe4, "BT’s detection of 2,000 potential cyberattacks per second – which is a staggering 1,000% increase in the last 12 months according to their reports - highlights how cybercriminals are increasingly using AI-powered bots to exploit vulnerabilities.”
She noted that with almost all businesses now digital the attack surface across sectors has been expanded significantly.
What we appear to be witnessing is an escalating battle between ‘good’ AI and ‘bad’ AI in terms of cybersecurity, which means that security awareness and education will remain critical in organisations looking to establish overall resilience against cyber threats.
