Bjorn R. Watne, the global chief information security officer at INTERPOL, advises companies to prioritize the protection of their most critical assets, referred to as crown jewels. Speaking at Tech Week Singapore, Watne noted that AI enables criminals to execute traditional fraud tactics with greater speed and at a significantly larger scale.
To counter these threats, Watne suggests that businesses identify their vital assets and determine potential adversaries. Companies should then utilize threat intelligence to analyze the tactics and technologies of these attackers. This approach allows organizations to tailor their defenses rather than attempting to protect against every possible threat simultaneously.
The official highlighted that state-backed hackers are already leveraging AI. Research from TeamT5 indicates that Chinese state-affiliated groups have more than doubled their attack volume after integrating open-source AI models. Watne also expressed specific concern regarding agentic AI, which can perform tasks autonomously and potentially cause physical harm.
The risks associated with autonomous systems, particularly in self-driving vehicles, are also a focus for Western regulators. In May, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance advising organizations to prepare for unexpected behavior from agentic AI. OpenAI has also warned that AI-enabled cyberattacks will likely become widespread in the coming months.
