Summer brings a welcome change of pace, with longer days, vacations, and time to relax. But while your team enjoys the season, cybercriminals are busy working overtime. And this year, they’re getting an upgrade with artificial intelligence (AI).

AI is being used to create more sophisticated, targeted scams that are increasingly harder to detect. From fake travel itineraries to phony giveaways, today’s threats are built to look convincing and to strike when people are least expecting it.

As your managed IT and cybersecurity partner, we want to keep you in the loop on how AI is evolving the threat landscape this summer and how we’re staying one step ahead to protect your business.

Smarter Scams, Fueled by AI

Cybercriminals are using AI to craft highly personalized phishing messages, ones that look and sound legitimate. These messages can include your name, reference recent activity, and even mimic the layout of trusted websites or brands.

Gone are the days of obvious grammar mistakes and sketchy formatting. Today’s phishing emails are often clean, convincing, and capable of passing a casual scan. In some cases, attackers are even using AI to clone voices for voicemail scams or to mirror the writing styles of known contacts.

Deepfakes and Voice Cloning in the Wild

We’re also seeing AI-powered deepfakes being used in social engineering attacks. These can include fake video or audio recordings of business leaders or colleagues, used to create a sense of urgency in situations like wire transfer scams.

Imagine receiving a message that sounds like your executive, asking for an immediate financial action while they’re “travelling.” It’s this level of realism that makes these new tactics particularly dangerous.

Our team actively monitors for these emerging techniques and keeps your organization’s safeguards updated to block these types of attacks before they become a real issue.

AI-Enhanced Malware and Automated Threats

AI is also being used to make malware more adaptive and stealthy. Malicious code can now lie dormant until it detects specific behaviour, like accessing sensitive data or logging into a secure platform.

Attackers are using automation to scan for vulnerabilities across systems more efficiently, and they’re leveraging AI to generate malware that can evade traditional detection tools. This is especially common during times when staffing is lower, like during summer vacations.

Rest assured, we’re continuously patching systems, monitoring activity, and applying the latest threat intelligence to keep your network secure even when your team is out of office.

What We’re Watching So You Don’t Have To

While many of the tactics above target end users, we’ve already put proactive measures in place across your environment to detect and respond to them. That includes:

• Advanced threat detection using AI-powered tools
  
  

• Ongoing phishing protection and mail filtering
  
  

• Regular patching and system updates
  
  

• 24/7 monitoring for suspicious behaviour
  
  

• Multi-layered security controls tailored to your risk profile
  
  

We also stay current on how AI is helping defend against threats, not just enabling them. Many of the tools we use now incorporate machine learning to identify patterns and act on potential risks faster than ever.

Enjoy Summer with Confidence

AI might be raising the stakes, but with us as your MSP, you don’t have to manage it alone or at all. Our team is constantly adapting your security posture behind the scenes so you can focus on your work, your downtime, or wherever summer takes you.

As always, if you ever receive a message or alert that doesn’t feel right, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help you verify what’s safe and respond quickly if something seems suspicious.