Cybercriminals are constantly searching for new ways to trick people. One of the more recent additions to their arsenal was voice simulation software. In 2019 the chief executive officer of a British energy provider transferred €220,000 ($249,000) to a scammer after he received a call from what sounded like the head of the unit’s German parent company asking him to wire money to a Hungarian supplier. The voice was generated using artificial intelligence, says Rüdiger Kirsch, a fraud expert at Euler Hermes, the energy company’s insurer. (The insurer declined to identify the client but says it paid out the claim.)
Some cybersecurity experts have long feared what a hacker might be able to do with AI in video—create a convincing version of, say, a corporate executive who really wants to know your password. AI software is now capable of doing this practically in real time, meaning a hacker could pretend to be your boss on a Zoom call.
