AI-driven attacks to hit banking sector: Report

New Delhi: Artificial intelligence-driven cyberattacks are expected to rise in the coming days, posing challenges to traditional cybersecurity measures, according to the Digital Threat Report-2024 for the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector.

The report, prepared by Cert-In, India's cyber nodal agency, and SISA, a global cybersecurity firm, says, "By 2025, we expect AI-driven cyberattacks to become one of the most scalable and adaptable threats, challenging traditional defences and requiring innovative countermeasures.”

With AI being leveraged by both defenders and attackers, the report warns of a future dominated by highly personalised, large-scale cyberattacks driven by such technologies.

“The cyber threats are no longer a distant concern — they are an immediate and inescapable reality, particularly for the BFSI industry," the report said.

The report highlights that in 2024, the BFSI sector experienced a rise in the sophistication and diversity of cyberattacks. It notes that the sector's ecosystem faces distinct challenges due to its interconnected infrastructure and the high-value financial data it safeguards.

“This convergence of high rewards and expanding technological complexity has made the sector a prime target for attacks by cyber malicious actors. Phishing and compromised credentials are some of the key forms of cyber-attacks in India," the report said.

The first half of 2024 witnessed a 175 per cent increase in phishing attacks compared to the same period last year, underscoring heightened activity in an increasingly volatile threat landscape, according to the report.

As attackers increasingly utilise AI, identity-based attacks have become more sophisticated and widespread. AI's capability to exploit identity vulnerabilities and bypass defences through social engineering represents a concerning shift in cyber tactics. Deepfake technology, for example, facilitates large-scale impersonation scams such as executive-level Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks and misinformation campaigns.

With India seeing a higher-than-average increase in deepfake identity fraud, organisations face unprecedented challenges in maintaining digital trust, the report said.