UAE Cyber Council flags risks of AI-powered phishing

Abu Dhabi: Experts in digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are warning of a sharp, year-on-year rise in hacking incidents, driven by growing reliance on technology and rapid digital transformation. They note that AI itself is becoming a key factor behind the surge in data breaches, as the number of advanced connected devices has grown from 50 billion to 75 billion, while AI-powered hacking techniques advance and the adoption of robust information-security practices remains limited.

Technology specialists stress that cybersecurity risks should not stifle innovation or AI development, which offers enormous opportunities even as it introduces significant challenges.

AI reshapes fraud and online risks

The UAE Government Cybersecurity Council said AI technologies have fundamentally transformed fraud practices, enabling highly complex tasks to be executed in seconds. This has dramatically increased the risk of online scams, particularly those driven by AI, highlighting the need to boost public awareness of emerging threats.

In a statement, the Council explained that AI makes cyber fraud harder to detect. Scammers can now create highly convincing schemes by spoofing voices, altering logos to look official, refining wording and design, framing scams as urgent security requests, and generating fake links that appear legitimate. These tactics contribute to a rapid rise in technology-enabled fraud.

AI-powered phishing on the rise

The Council confirmed that AI-driven phishing now accounts for more than 90% of digital breaches. Fraudsters can craft messages that appear entirely trustworthy, eliminating the usual warning signs and producing scams almost free of detectable flaws.

Users are urged to stay cautious before clicking any links and to verify the source of messages requesting personal or financial information.

Blurring the line between real and fake

As AI adoption grows, the Council noted an increasing confusion between genuine and fake content, creating complex challenges in combating fraud. Users are encouraged to adopt defensive tools, understand the scale of risks, strengthen security measures against account takeovers and fake identities, achieve faster and more accurate detection, reduce false alerts, safeguard payments, and leverage AI solutions to prioritise investigations of high-risk cases—despite limited resources and budgets.

Preventing AI-enabled fraud

The Council emphasised that combating AI-powered scams starts with individuals. Strengthening cyber literacy and understanding how scammers exploit AI is essential. Many products advertised on social media may appear unrealistically perfect due to AI-generated images, allowing fraudsters to mislead the public on an unprecedented scale.

Recommended precautions include:

• Avoid clicking on untrusted links.

• Check for spelling or grammatical errors in messages.

• Verify suspicious information through official channels.

• Enable two-factor authentication to block over 90% of attacks.

• Use security software to detect and remove malware.

Digital safety is a major challenge in cyberspace, and preventive measures combined with government efforts help counter AI-related threats.

Cyber pulse campaign

The Cyber Pulse awareness campaign, now in its second year, is part of the UAE’s national strategy to build a secure cyber environment. It aims to protect users, foster trust in the digital ecosystem, raise awareness among families and individuals, and enhance cybersecurity practices to safeguard privacy in the era of accelerated digital transformation.