Cybercrime might be the world’s fastest-growing entrepreneurial venture. Over the past decade, no enterprise — licit or other — has flourished quite as ably. If cybercrime were endowed a nation and granted a gross domestic product (GDP), it would rank as the world’s third largest economy, behind only the United States and China. This is no drill or caprice: According to new data from Verizon’s “Data Breach Investigations Report,” the average cost of a data breach is now $4.24 million, up from $3.86 million in 2021, with ransomware accounting for one out of every four breaches. The growth of cybercrime was foreseeable. Criminals are known to be early adopters of new technologies, and there are rich targets available. Much has been also made about the prowess of cybercriminals and the maturity of their enterprises. But it’s worth bearing in mind that – however clever they may seem – cybercriminals need to be just innovative enough to overcome defenses. The acceleration of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) is set to amplify present conditions. For example, we already know that cybercriminals are using AI to create malware and deepfakes, improve disinformation efforts and phishing emails, interfere in elections, and even discover new vulnerabilities to attack.

Full opinion : As Artificial Intelligence Accelerates, Cybercrime Innovates.