AI: The Future of Social Engineering!

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of computer science today. Everyone is talking about AI and how it is the way of the future. Companies are using machine learning (ML)algorithms to enhance their business offerings, which is showing promise in the realm of improved efficiency. The potential benefit of a fully developed AI is exceptional, but so are the threats that AI poses. While the developers of the various forms of AI are eager to be the first to create a fully functional, truly intelligent AI, they do not always consider the negative possibilities that AI creates. ChatGPT was recently used to hack itself and exposed a vulnerability in its open-source library. In addition to using AI to create hacks and exploits, AI is also being used to support social engineering efforts by creating more convincing social engineering attacks. Whether the attack is using AI to duplicate a person's voice to convince a loved one to send a gift card to get them out of jail or if it is being used to simply scrape a person’s social media to develop a more precise method of attack, the concern that AI will be used for nefarious purposes is genuinely profound. This paper is a case study looking into how AI is and will be used to improve social engineering. A literature review was conducted to identify how researchers are already seeing how AI is being used and to project future threats. AI is here to stay, and the threats it brings are existential, and it is imperative that these threats are realized, and defensive measures are developed. This case study looks at how AI is and will be used to improve the efficacy of social engineering attacks.