Protecting Your Identity in the Era of AI

In this article, we will investigate strategies on how to protect and manage identities in your organisation in a world of increasingly smarter cyber criminals.

Understanding AI-Powered Identity Theft

With the advancement of AI technology, cybercriminals are finding new ways to exploit vulnerabilities and steal personal information.

However, staying informed about the latest techniques used by identity thieves allows you to be proactive and take necessary precautions to safeguard sensitive data in your organisation. By understanding the risks, you can implement robust security measures to mitigate them. It’s important to recognise the potential impact of identity theft on you, your employees and your business. Beyond the financial loss, it can result in damage to your reputation, and even legal consequences. Therefore, it’s essential to educate all users about the risks and provide them with the knowledge and tools to protect their identities online.

Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication for Enhanced Security

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection by requiring users to provide multiple forms of identification before granting access to sensitive information or systems. This can include something the user knows (such as a password), something the user has (such as a smartphone or token), or something the user is (such as a fingerprint or facial recognition). By implementing MFA, organisations can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorised access and identity theft.

Another benefit of implementing MFA is that it can help detect and prevent various types of attacks, such as phishing and brute force attacks.

During a phishing attack, the attacker may trick the user into revealing their password via a modified website. But even if the criminal obtains it, they would be stopped in their tracks once asked to provide additional authentication factors to gain access. Whereas in a brute force attack, a hacker would guess a password – but then still face the same barrier of additional required authentication.

Another threat to passwords comes in the form AI. Research suggests there is potential to use AI to accurately identify passwords by the sound of keystrokes, e.g. during Zoom meetings.

This added layer of security makes it much more difficult for cybercriminals to compromise user accounts and steal sensitive information.

Is Biometric Authentication Still Safe Enough?

While biometric authentication has traditionally been seen as a highly reliable form of identity protection, it comes with a caveat today. By using unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, facial features, and iris patterns, biometric authentication by itself no longer provides the protection it used to.

While it offers users a quick and easy way to access systems, it should not be used as a standalone way to authenticate. You should always combine it with another factor, such as something the user knows or something the user has, to ensure only authorised access.

Additionally, as biometric data is personal information, there is an even greater need to protect it. We advise organisations to implement strong encryption measures and adhere to strict privacy policies to ensure the security and confidentiality of biometric data.

What’s the Issue With Biometrics?

Traditionally considered to be difficult to replicate or forge, the rise of AI has made it easier to create deepfakes in the form of a digital clone of someone’s likeness. That also means it’s possible to successfully pass biometric authentication, as even so-called super-recognisers can’t consistently identify deepfaked faces. A wide array of AI tools – from video to voice cloning apps – makes it possible to impersonate someone. The more information about a person is available online, the easier it is for a criminal to gather enough data to replicate them. And of course threat actors find it even more enticing to deepfake figures such as the CEO of an organisation for high financial yield as part of a cyber-attack compared to targeting lesser-known individuals with no control over large corporate cash reserves.

What this means in practice: During an impersonation attack, a cyber criminal uses AI tools to pretend to be a person of authority within an organisation to gain access to sensitive information or funds.

Just recently, an employee at a cryptocurrency foundation fell victim to an elaborate deepfake scam involving Calendly links, deepfake Zoom meetings and malware installation to steal information.

And it can happen at any time to any business.

Even Accenture’s CEO got deepfaked in a meeting, asking the CFO to transfer funds. Fortunately, the company followed protocol and no money left the account. However, some may not be so lucky. Last year in Hong Kong for example, a finance worker paid out $25 million on request, thinking they were on a call with their company’s CFO.

Leveraging AI for Behavioral Analytics in Identity Verification

Artificial intelligence can play a crucial role in identity verification by leveraging behavioural analytics. By analysing user behaviour patterns, AI algorithms can detect anomalies and identify potential fraud attempts. For example, AI can analyse the way a user types, moves the mouse, or interacts with certain applications to determine if their behaviour is consistent with their established profile.

By leveraging AI for behavioural analytics, you can enhance the identity verification processes in your organisation while reducing the risk of impersonation or account takeover. AI algorithms can continuously learn and adapt to new patterns, making them highly effective in detecting suspicious activities and preventing unauthorised access.

It’s important to note that while AI can greatly improve identity verification when looking at behavioural analytics, it should not be solely relied upon. 

We recommend a multi-layered approach that combines it with other security measures such as MFA (one factor of each kind) to ensure comprehensive identity protection.

Building Resilient Identity Management Strategies for the Future

As the AI era continues to evolve, so must organisations to stay safe. Apart from staying on top of trends, regularly assessing and updating security measures as well as being proactive, one factor is key: education.

Building resilient identity management strategies involves training employees and users in best practices for identity protection. By that, we mean promoting strong password hygiene, raising awareness about phishing and other social engineering attacks, and encouraging the use of secure authentication methods.

Furthermore, organisations need to prioritise data privacy and comply with relevant regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). By implementing robust data protection measures and ensuring compliance with privacy laws in your organisation, you can build trust with the users of your system and demonstrate your commitment to safeguarding identities.

In conclusion, securing identities in the age of AI requires a comprehensive and proactive approach. While AI can help protect businesses, it can also be used maliciously to have the exact opposite effect. By understanding the risks associated with identity theft, implementing multi-factor authentication, leveraging AI for behavioural analytics, and building resilient identity management strategies, you can effectively protect and manage identities in your organisation in the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence.