Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities continue to evolve with each passing day. More has become possible through the advancement of AI, completely transforming the way customers interact with business applications. But it is not all sunshine; AI is also being used in more nefarious and dangerous ways. As a result, cyber-criminals continue to lurk in the shadows, waiting for the right time to strike…

Emerging Threats to Your ERP: Confronting the Dark Side of AI

How Are Businesses Currently Utilizing AI

Since the massive explosion of generative AI in 2022, artificial intelligence has not slowed down in its development. If anything, the trajectory for growth and innovation has only just begun. Businesses are already leveraging basic tools for automation, machine learning, and large language models (LLMs), but so much more is just on the horizon. Much of the innovation is coming through in analytics and reporting, providing new, previously inaccessible insights.

However, adoption has reached a point where pitfalls and risks are emerging when the technology is improperly implemented or utilized. Some organizations are rushing into the decision without establishing a strategy or company policy for its safe usage. As a result, AI is falling short of real value and, in some cases, is leading to a loss of financial investment. In order to avoid emerging risk, businesses must focus on what exact processes your business wants to improve before implementing an AI solution. Begin by analyzing how AI can actually remove inefficiencies and improve processes.

Early investments in the artificial intelligence boom are coming to fruition through minor returns, but businesses will continue to look for greater ROI and find the most optimal use of AI for their teams. The questions is no longer “is AI here to stay?” and is now “How can my businesses benefit from AI?” Whether or not your business is using AI to its full potential, AI tools will continue to transform the world and offer greater functionality to businesses.

What To Look for in Your Vendor’s AI Strategy

For businesses looking to evaluate their current technology stack, it is crucial to examine your vendor’s AI strategy. First and foremost, make sure your vendor has one! In a similar fashion to the adoption of cloud software, artificial intelligence is a prevalent software topic that will slowly become the standard for operations. If your vendor does not have a strategy for approaching artificial intelligence, they have already fallen behind the competition.

Once you have a base understanding of your software vendor’s artificial intelligence strategy, the next step is to decipher the vendor’s philosophical approach to handling AI. Ask questions like:

“What is your approach to AI? Is it integrated throughout the platform, specific tool offerings, or both?”
“Are you utilizing partnerships? If so, who are you partnering with? Is my data secure with that partnership?”

Next, determine what real solutions are generally available and what are future plans within your vendor’s technology stack. By reviewing the vendor’s customer success stories and ensuring there is a proven track record of successful implementations of their AI tools is a crucial part of the process. Do your research on their solutions and capabilities before jumping on board!

Above all, ensure your vendor is emphasizing transparency. Vendors who are not being open about how their AI tools function or how the data is secured are raising a “red flag” and should make you hesitant as a customer. Find out from the vendor what platforms or tools are used and how AI will be utilized in your instance. Protect your data at all costs, and be persistent in ensuring your data is not being shared without your consent.

How AI is Being Used to Attack Businesses

Like other forms of cybersecurity attacks, AI-fueled attacks can originate both internally and externally. Both are equally dangerous for your organization.

Internal

As companies increase their AI usage, the risk of confidential information being fed to artificial intelligence models is skyrocketing, and that data is increasingly vulnerable. Be cautious when sharing information with AI tools, as these databases are still new and their governance is developing. Data leaks and hacks are more likely under these circumstances and put your business and your customers at greater risk.

External

External cybercriminals are unfortunately becoming more advanced, launching complex ransomware and other attacks leveraging LLMs. LLMs in particular have enabled cybercriminals to evolve to the next level, making scams more difficult to identify. With fewer grammatical and spelling issues in phishing emails, and LLMs enabling real time coding of malware, it is much easier for cybercriminal to avoid anti-virus applications and safeguards.

Impersonation attacks have also leveled up with improvements to generative AI tools for “deep fakes”, the creation of video and audio recordings of individuals for the purpose of defrauding people or organizations. Deep fake and face swap technology becomes more realistic with each passing day, allowing for complex, multi-prong attacks. It may start with text messages or emails and evolve to video calls as the cybercriminal gains your trust. We have unfortunately seen more unique use cases for this technology, with fake applicants applying to companies to attempt to get hired and steal information. Additionally, fake customers who ask for sensitive information as part of an “approval process,” have emerged.

With new AI technologies developing every day, attacks continue to become more complex and difficult to recognize. Multi-stage, multimedia cyberattacks have already started to take advantage of businesses, and it will continue to happen unless businesses become active in educating and protecting themselves.

How Your Business Can Protect Itself

There are a number of ways businesses must be proactive in protecting themselves from evolving cybersecurity attacks. With upgraded and more frequent attacks, it has never been more important to position your business and your team effectively against threats.

Stay Skeptical

Step one in protecting your organization should be to stay “politely paranoid.” Being somewhat skeptical and wary of the potential risks that AI presents is important to ensuring your business stays safe. Do your research appropriately before signing up to use any new tools. Furthermore, do not be afraid to apply skepticism to any suspicious activities from external sources. From new applicants to text messages from executives, do not just assume innocence from everyone.

Ask Questions

Coinciding with a healthy amount of skepticism is asking questions. Do not be afraid to ask as many questions as necessary when discussing AI offerings with your vendor. Ensuring you have any and all of your questions answered is another important way of protecting your employee and customer data. If you do receive suspicious communications from “your CEO” or anyone else, ask questions that only they could answer. Doing so could allow you to expose a potential cyberattack in progress and could save your business thousands (if not millions) of dollars.

Educate Your Business

Finally, educate yourself! Educating everyone in your organization and staying up to date on the latest developments in AI will position you for the safe usage of AI. Read articles and press releases, attend events, and find other forms of information that will provide critical context to how cybercriminals and tools are developing.

Sharing knowledge amongst your team will prevent employees from unintentionally putting the entire company at risk. Whether through monthly trainings or companywide newsletters, educating your team is one of the most impactful ways you can protect your business.

Conclusion

The demand for software and the evolution of artificial intelligence is an exciting time for a number of reasons. But, with the new developments, you have more responsibility now than ever to stay vigilant in protecting your organization from both internal and external threats. If you have any questions regarding how you can implement AI into your business safely or are looking to undergo an ERP upgrade on your journey to an AI fueled culture, we can help! Schedule your free consultation today!