🤖 AI Is Now Powering Most Cyber Attacks. Here’s What That Means for Your Business.
If I told you that a huge number of cyber attacks happening right now aren’t being run by people at all, but by artificial intelligence, it would probably sound a bit dramatic.
Unfortunately, it’s not.
This is where we are today.
Recent research shows that around 80% of ransomware attacks are now powered by AI. That’s four out of every five attacks being driven by software that can think, adapt, and move far faster than any human attacker ever could.
And it’s not just ransomware.
AI is increasingly being used to:
Write highly convincing phishing emails that are much harder to spot
Crack passwords at incredible speed
Bypass CAPTCHA systems that were designed to stop automated attacks
Create fake customer service calls using deepfake audio or video that sounds frighteningly real
Why this matters for small and medium-sized businesses
The biggest issue isn’t just sophistication. It’s speed and scale.
An attacker using AI can test thousands of login attempts, vulnerabilities, or attack paths in the time it would take a human to try one. They don’t get tired. They don’t lose focus. And they don’t need to sleep.
Meanwhile, your business has to defend every possible entry point. One weak password, one unpatched system, one unlucky click is all it takes.
That imbalance is what makes AI-driven attacks such a serious problem, especially for smaller businesses who don’t have in-house security teams watching things around the clock.
Why old-school security is struggling
Traditional approaches to cyber security were built for a slower world.
Antivirus software that waits for known threats. Manual patching done when someone remembers. Security checks that happen once in a while rather than continuously.
AI-powered attacks evolve too quickly for that. By the time a threat is recognised, it may already have changed shape or moved on to its next target.
This is why relying on antivirus alone, or assuming updates will “just happen”, isn’t enough anymore.
The good news
AI isn’t only being used by attackers.
On the defensive side, we’re seeing smarter security tools that can:
Spot unusual behaviour rather than just known threats
Predict likely attack patterns
Automatically isolate suspicious activity
Set up decoys and traps to catch attackers early
But no single tool is a silver bullet.
The businesses that stay safest are the ones using a layered approach. Strong basics like patching and updates. Modern, AI-powered security tools. Human oversight. Clear policies so people know what to do and what not to do.
It’s not about panic. It’s about being prepared.
The bottom line
AI-powered cyber crime isn’t going away. If anything, it’s accelerating.
But that doesn’t mean your business has to be an easy target. The right mindset, combined with proactive security and regular reviews, makes a huge difference.
If you’d like a second pair of eyes on your setup, or you’re not sure whether your current security would stand up to modern threats, my team and I are happy to help.
Just get in touch and we’ll talk it through.
