THE ASPIRE BLOG

Since 2004, the U.S. President and Congress have declared the month of October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a dedicated month for the public and private sectors to work together to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity. Over the years, it has grown into a collaborative effort between government and industry to enhance cybersecurity awareness, encourage actions by the public to reduce online risk and generate discussion on cyber threats on a national and global scale. This month marks the 21st Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

“With the holiday season approaching, it is a prime time to put up our defenses and make sure people are trained and educated on ways to protect themselves online,” says Aspire Vice President of Information Systems and Technology Demetrius Dillard. “Most of the time, people don’t pay attention to cybersecurity until they need it. It is always a good practice to pause and look at what you’re engaging with before you click on an ad or enter your personal information online.”

Risks and Rewards of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a growing hot topic among both the private and public sectors, including the government. 

“AI tools represent the next great wave of technological change in our personal and professional lives,” Dillard says. “It is poised to become a driver of efficiency. While AI can be helpful, it’s important to consider the security risks of sharing sensitive information and data with these tools.” 

According to the FBI, there is an escalating threat posed by cyber criminals using AI. Cybercriminals are using both publicly available and customized AI tools to exploit the trust of both individuals and organizations.

“Cybercriminals can spoof legitimate AI tools or even create their own,” Dillard says. “If they trick you into using their versions of AI tools, you could be sharing information directly with cybercriminals and putting yourself at risk.”

With these malicious AI tools, cyber criminals can create specialized prompts and inputs designed to manipulate you into sharing sensitive information.

“A lot of the bad actors misusing AI are actually full-blown companies that do a lot of work to make sure they pull in millions, and in some cases billions, of dollars — fraudulently of course,” Dillard says. “Many of these folks actually work for a company like you and I, so they get regular paychecks and maybe even a bonus if they get a big-time ‘score.’”

Aspire’s current use of AI has been focused on protecting the organization from cyber criminals posing a threat to its network security — primarily through email.

Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Business email compromise — BEC — is a type of cybercrime where a scammer attempts to get you to click a link or give away confidential information through email.

“This is where phishing attempts come into play,” Dillard says. “People are trying to get you to click on the link and enter your personal or company’s bank account information so they can steal money or your password so they can hack into your network, lock it down and hold the organization for ransom.”

Because BEC exploits the fact that most of us rely on email to conduct our personal and professional business, BEC is one of the most financially damaging online crimes, according to the FBI.

“The passwords for any individual user with a company, especially a healthcare organization like Aspire, are key,” Dillard says. “Once that bad actor has access to your account, they will look at anyone you communicate with in the company on a regular basis and see if they can gain access to their information as well. And then they keep moving up the chain of command until they reach the head of the organization. If someone gains access to Aspire through a frivolous or fraudulent email, it could wreak havoc.”

Staying Safe Online 

What can you do to help protect yourself online? The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has some tips to keep your information safe:

• Recognize and report phishing scams. Be cautious of unsolicited messages asking for personal information. Avoid sharing sensitive information or credentials with unknown sources. Report phishing attempts, and then delete the message.
• Use strong passwords. Strong passwords are long, random, unique and include all four character types (uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols).
• Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA). You need more than a password to protect your online accounts, and enabling MFA makes you significantly less likely to get hacked. Enable MFA on all online accounts that offer it, especially email, social media and financial accounts.
• Update software. Ensuring your software is up to date is the best way to make sure you have the latest security patches and updates on your devices. Regularly check for updates if automatic updates are not available.

In addition, Dillard offers some safety tips specifically for using AI:

• Use well-known and secure AI tools. Verify the AI tools are legitimate, and choose tools that have been developed with data security in mind.
• Limit the information you share. Only share details that are necessary for the AI tool to function, and exclude any identifying information.
• Do your research. Familiarize yourself with the privacy policies of AI tools to understand the data privacy risks.