AI is behind 84% of ransomware attacks as Biden's former cyber director warns of ...

Scams and cyberattacks have been on the rise for years, but new technology — mainly, artificial intelligence — is making them more sophisticated, as well as progressively harder to detect and avoid before it's too late.

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Offenders are impersonating federal agents , landlords , famous figures and even your loved ones, with the ability to mimic voices on a phone call or disguise a phony email or link as legitimate. Some people have even been tricked into unwittingly participating in a scam ring themselves , or, according to a new report, had their own AI-powered helpers and online tools turned against them.

The study, from cybersecurity firm Semperis , found that AI is now utilized in a whopping 84% of ransomware attacks, which involve installing software programs on victims' devices and then demanding payment to access the crucial, often private information therein (hence the "ransom" in the name). And as algorithms advance, perpetrators are getting more practiced and confident in using them, especially in cases where they wouldn't be able to do the technical work themselves.

How do ransomware attackers get in?

There are various tactics for a scammer to gain access to your computer, phone or other device, including by directing you to click on fraudulent links, through phishing emails that dupe you into revealing passwords or other sensitive information, or by simply finding vulnerabilities in your operating systems and programs — including your own AI tools.

In some cases, a human doesn't even have to be the one directly carrying out the crime, as AI is now able to infiltrate systems, lock them down and issue threats autonomously upon instruction, says Semperis's strategic advisor, Chris Inglis, who formerly served as the U.S. National Cyber Director under Biden.

"I think we're already seeing autonomous attacks. Autonomous ransomware attacks are included in the mix," Inglis told CBS News when speaking the report's findings. "AI is an inflection point in their capacities to hold the same things at risk… [it] increases the capacity, scope and scale of attacks in understanding the weaknesses in your system or increasing the sophistication of their approach."

Nowadays, once someone is targeted, they are also more likely to be a repeat victim; Semperis notes that 69% of survey respondents said they'd experienced such an attack more than once in the last year.

Even more concerning is the rise in physical violence associated with these schemes, with ransomware gangs resorting to threats of physical or psychological violence in a staggering 40% of cases, and actually enacting harm in more than half of those where it was threatened.

"AI is reshaping ransomware as repeat attacks, threats to employees and their families, and attacks on identity systems outpace recovery readiness," the firm warns.

AI's potential to "empower people to do more harm"

Those at the helm of advancements in machine learning are already preparing for how to respond if and when its power is used for nefarious purposes , especially when it comes to cybercrime. Microsoft founder Bill Gates is among those who believes that one of the primary risks of further development in the sector is the fact that algorithms will "empower people (and perhaps AIs) to do more harm."

"Long before AI entered the mainstream, there was information online how to create weapons like bombs, bioweapons, even computer viruses. AI will make it much easier to not only get this information but act on it. Even criminals with very limited skills will be able to target victims at every scale: individuals, companies, and governments," Gates wrote in a lengthy blog post AI's future over the summer.

This potential is one of only three primary risks that Gates chose to touch on, underscoring how much of a risk it truly is.

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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: AI is behind 84% of ransomware attacks as Biden's former cyber director warns of 'autonomous' threats

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