F‑Alert year end report: discover the latest consumer threats today
In 2023, AI became inescapable. And our lives will never be the same. In this year-end edition, we wrap up the biggest stories of the year and look forward, with a focus on how artificial intelligence will continue to transform our lives and the cyber crimes that this incredible new technology may enable.
PREDICTION: The Deepfake crisis is here
Deepfakes — images or videos where one face is replaced with another — have been around for years. But as part of the generative AI revolution, they keep getting more realistic. And society is not prepared for the consequences. Laura Kankaala, Threat Intelligence Lead at F‑Secure, explains what parents and all adults need to know about this growing scourge that may already be affecting the teenagers you love.
PREDICTION: Small businesses targeted for data
More and more, criminals will likely shift their focus towards small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). And the consequences for consumers will be huge. Ash Shatrieh, F‑Secure Threat Intelligence Researcher, explains how the explosion of everything being offered as a service,
including cyber crime, makes the customer data stored by smaller businesses such an appealing — and often easy — target for attackers.
PREDICTION: AI will be bigger than the internet
The leaps we keep experiencing in AI are the result of three revolutions happening all at once. Mikko Hyppönen, Principal Research Advisor at F‑Secure, explains how we got to the point that we now have large language models that can speak all human languages and create fantastic media in seconds. And he suggests that anyone who ignores the awesome power of AI will suffer the same fate as those who ignored the first tech revolution of the last half century.
PREDICTION: AI will supercharge shopping scams
This year saw a dramatic rise in shopping frauds delivered through fake and fraudulent advertisements for luxury goods on social media, most prominently found on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Yik Han, a researcher at F‑Secure, believes that in 2024 these bad ads will likely evolve into new heights with the use of rapidly advancing generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Get all these stories and highlights in F‑Alert 2023 wrap-up
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