AI Is Changing Cyber Risk Faster Than You May Realise

Artificial intelligence is already changing how businesses work.

Employees are using AI to write emails, summarise documents, analyse information, create marketing content and complete everyday administrative tasks. Cybersecurity providers are also using AI to identify unusual activity and respond to potential threats more quickly.

Unfortunately, cybercriminals have access to many of the same capabilities.

AI is not suddenly replacing every traditional cyberattack. Instead, it is making familiar attacks quicker, more convincing and easier to scale.

That distinction is important. Businesses may believe AI-related cyber risk is something they can address in a few years. In reality, the risks are already appearing in email inboxes, cloud platforms, employee workflows and supplier relationships.

The National Cyber Security Centre has warned that AI is rapidly transforming cyber risk and that organisations need to act quickly to remain protected. It also expects AI to reduce the time between a vulnerability becoming publicly known and cybercriminals attempting to exploit it. (National Cyber Security Centre)

AI Is Making Phishing Emails More Convincing

Many people still imagine a phishing email as a poorly written message containing obvious spelling mistakes and an unusual-looking link.

That is becoming an increasingly dangerous assumption.

Generative AI can produce professional, grammatically correct and highly convincing emails within seconds. Criminals can use information from company websites, LinkedIn profiles, social media accounts and previous data breaches to make a message feel relevant to its recipient.

An employee could receive an email that appears to come from:

• A managing director asking for an urgent payment
• A supplier requesting updated bank details
• Microsoft asking the user to confirm their account
• A colleague sharing a document
• A customer requesting a copy of an invoice
• A recruitment agency sending a CV
• A senior manager asking for confidential information

These attacks do not necessarily contain the warning signs employees have traditionally been taught to identify.

ENISA’s 2025 threat reporting highlighted the growing use of large language models to improve phishing and automate social-engineering activity. (ENISA)

Cybersecurity awareness training therefore needs to move beyond simply looking for spelling mistakes. Employees must learn to question unusual requests, verify payment changes and report anything that does not feel right.

Deepfakes Can Impersonate People You Trust

AI-generated text is only one part of the problem.

Modern AI tools can create realistic voices, images and videos. This introduces the possibility of attackers impersonating company directors, employees, customers or suppliers.

For example, an employee might receive a telephone call that sounds like their managing director instructing them to make an urgent payment. A finance team could be invited to an online meeting containing an AI-generated version of someone they recognise. A voice message could appear to come from a colleague who has lost access to their account.

These scenarios may sound extreme, but businesses should no longer rely entirely on someone looking or sounding familiar.

Requests involving payments, sensitive information, password resets or access changes should be verified using a separate and trusted communication method.

A quick telephone call to a known number could prevent a serious financial loss.

Cybercriminals Can Research Businesses More Quickly

Planning a targeted cyberattack once required considerable time and manual research.

AI can help criminals gather and organise publicly available information much faster. It can identify employees, job roles, suppliers, technologies, email formats and potential relationships between different organisations.

This information can then be used to create highly targeted attacks.

A criminal may discover:

• Who is responsible for processing payments
• Which employee works in the finance department
• Which IT systems the business uses
• When a senior employee is away
• Which suppliers regularly send invoices
• Which members of staff recently joined the company
• Which organisation provides the business’s IT support

This is one reason even small businesses can become targets. AI enables criminals to personalise attacks without investing the same amount of time they once required.

Vulnerabilities May Be Exploited Faster

When a security vulnerability is discovered, businesses normally have a limited period in which to install the relevant update before criminals begin exploiting it.

AI could make that period even shorter.

Attackers can use AI to analyse technical information, understand vulnerabilities and adapt existing attack techniques. The NCSC expects AI to increase the speed and capability of vulnerability research and exploitation, particularly as more advanced systems become widely available. (National Cyber Security Centre)

This makes patch management increasingly important.

Installing security updates several weeks after their release may no longer be sufficient. Businesses need to know which devices they own, which applications they use and whether critical updates are being installed promptly.

Unsupported operating systems and forgotten applications can create particularly serious risks because they may no longer receive security updates at all.

AI Can Help Less Experienced Criminals

Not every cybercriminal is a highly skilled technical expert.

AI can provide guidance, explain technical concepts, help write scripts and assist with adapting existing tools. Although reputable AI platforms contain safeguards, criminals may use unrestricted models, stolen accounts or tools specifically developed for malicious activity.

The NCSC has assessed that AI lowers the barrier for less experienced threat actors by helping them conduct information gathering and other stages of an attack more effectively. (National Cyber Security Centre)

This does not mean AI can automatically carry out every stage of a sophisticated cyberattack. It does mean that more people may be able to attempt attacks that would previously have required greater knowledge and experience.

For businesses, this could result in more frequent attacks rather than merely more advanced ones.

Your Employees May Be Creating New Risks with AI

Cyber risk does not only come from attackers.

Employees may be entering confidential information into public AI platforms without understanding where that information is processed, stored or reused.

They might upload:

• Customer information
• Contracts
• Financial reports
• Employee records
• Meeting transcripts
• Business plans
• Source code
• Network information
• Internal policies
• Legal documents

The employee may simply be trying to work more efficiently. However, without an approved AI policy, they may accidentally expose information that the business is responsible for protecting.

Organisations should make it clear which AI tools employees are permitted to use, what information can be entered and when approval is required.

Blocking every AI tool is unlikely to be a practical long-term strategy. Providing secure, managed alternatives and clear guidance is normally more effective than pretending employees are not using AI.

AI Agents Introduce an Additional Level of Risk

Traditional AI tools generally respond to a question or generate content.

AI agents can go further. Depending on their configuration, they may be able to access documents, read emails, update systems, create records or perform actions on behalf of a user.

This can deliver significant productivity benefits, but it also increases the potential impact of poor permissions or a compromised account.

An AI agent given excessive access could expose information from multiple systems. An attacker may also attempt to manipulate the agent through malicious instructions hidden inside an email, document or website.

Before deploying an AI agent, a business should understand:

• Which systems it can access
• What information it can read
• Which actions it can perform
• How its activity is logged
• Who approves access changes
• What happens if the agent makes a mistake
• How its access can be removed quickly

AI agents should follow the principle of least privilege. They should receive only the access required to perform their intended role.

Your Suppliers May Be Using AI Too

A business may control how its own employees use AI but have little visibility over how suppliers process its information.

Software providers, accountants, marketing agencies, recruitment companies and other third parties may introduce AI into their services. This could change where information is processed or which systems can access it.

Supplier reviews should therefore include questions about AI.

Businesses should understand whether suppliers use customer information to train models, which AI providers they rely on and what safeguards are in place.

AI risk is becoming part of supply-chain risk. It should not be treated as a completely separate issue.

AI Can Also Strengthen Cybersecurity

AI is not only helping attackers.

Cybersecurity platforms use AI and machine learning to identify suspicious behaviour, analyse large quantities of information and prioritise potential threats.

For example, security systems may identify:

• Unusual sign-in locations
• Unexpected file access
• Suspicious email patterns
• Abnormal device behaviour
• Possible malware activity
• Large or unusual data transfers
• Changes that do not match normal user activity

AI can help security teams process information more quickly, but it does not remove the need for properly configured security controls and experienced human oversight.

A sophisticated security platform cannot compensate for weak passwords, unrestricted administrator accounts, missing updates or untested backups.

AI should strengthen a business’s cybersecurity foundations rather than replace them.

What Should Businesses Do Now?

Businesses do not need to panic or purchase every product containing the words “artificial intelligence”.

They do, however, need to recognise that the threat landscape is changing.

A practical starting point includes the following measures.

Introduce an AI Usage Policy

Explain which tools employees can use, what information must never be entered and who employees should contact when they are unsure.

Strengthen Email Security

Use appropriate email filtering alongside SPF, DKIM and DMARC to make it harder for criminals to impersonate your organisation.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication adds another layer of protection if a password is stolen. Stronger phishing-resistant authentication methods should be considered for privileged and high-risk accounts.

Review User Permissions

Employees and AI tools should only have access to the systems and information they require.

Improve Payment Verification

Bank-detail changes and unusual payments should always be confirmed independently using trusted contact details.

Keep Systems Updated

Operating systems, applications, firewalls and network equipment should receive security updates promptly.

Protect Every Device

Managed endpoint protection should be installed across company computers and other supported devices.

Train Employees Regularly

Cybersecurity training should cover modern phishing, QR-code attacks, AI-generated messages, impersonation and deepfake risks.

Monitor Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 sign-ins, email forwarding rules, administrative changes and unusual account activity should be monitored.

Maintain Secure Backups

Backups should be protected from the main network, monitored and tested regularly. A backup that has never been restored should not automatically be considered reliable.

Create an Incident-Response Plan

Employees should know who to contact if they click a suspicious link, approve an unexpected authentication request or believe information has been exposed.

Early reporting can make a significant difference.

Cyber Risk Is Accelerating

AI is not replacing the cybersecurity risks businesses already face. It is accelerating them.

Phishing is becoming more persuasive. Research can be completed more quickly. Vulnerabilities may be exploited sooner. Impersonation is becoming more realistic, and employees now have access to powerful tools that may expose business information when used without appropriate controls.

The businesses most likely to struggle will not necessarily be those without the latest AI security product. They will be those with weak foundations, unclear responsibilities and no visibility over their systems or information.

Good cybersecurity still begins with the fundamentals: strong identity protection, managed devices, secure email, appropriate permissions, reliable backups, regular monitoring and employees who know how to report concerns.

The difference is that businesses may now have less time to identify and correct weaknesses before someone attempts to exploit them.

How Hamilton Group Can Help

Hamilton Group helps businesses use technology securely while protecting their systems, employees and information from changing cyber threats.

We can review your current cybersecurity arrangements, identify potential weaknesses and create a practical improvement plan suited to your organisation.

Our services can include:

• Microsoft 365 security reviews
• Multi-factor authentication
• Conditional Access
• Managed endpoint protection
• Email security
• DMARC, SPF and DKIM
• Security patching
• Cloud backup and recovery testing
• Firewall and network security
• Cybersecurity awareness training
• AI usage policies
• User and administrator permission reviews
• Cyber Essentials support
• Incident-response planning
• Ongoing security monitoring

At Hamilton Group, we aim to make first contact on IT support requests within 15 minutes, helping your employees receive assistance quickly when a technical or security issue affects their work.

Call Hamilton Group today on 0330 043 0069 to discuss how we can help your organisation manage AI-related cyber risk and build stronger protection for the future.

This article provides general information and should not be treated as legal, regulatory or data-protection advice. Organisations should obtain appropriate professional guidance relating to their individual responsibilities.