13% of phishing scams analysed likely to be Al-generated: CSA

Scams getting more convincing even as cyber threat cases in 2023 fell or stayed flat

- Osmond Chia

Around 13 per cent of scams analysed by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) in 2023 were likely generated by artificial intelligence (AI) – indicating that scams are getting more convincing even as overall cyber threat numbers fell or remained constant, compared with 2022 figures.

This is the first time the agency has disclosed figures on AI usage in phishing scams.

Phishing attempts, which trick victims into revealing passwords or other sensitive information to access banking or company accounts, fell by 52 per cent to 4,100 reported cases, according to CSA’s annual Singapore Cyber Landscape 2023 report, published on July 30.

Infected infrastructure, such as computers hacked through malware or coordinated cyber attacks, fell 14 per cent to 70,200 systems.

The number of defaced websites dipped 68 per cent to 108 websites.

The number of ransomware attacks, where crooks release malware designed to deny an organisation access to its systems unless it pays a ransom, was unchanged at 132 incidents reported. This figure remained high, CSA added.