The rapid development in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) opens up innovative opportunities, but also entails risks. Using AI for cyber attacks enables attackers to pursue new strategies. For a large number of people, phishing is the biggest danger that companies will have to deal with in the coming months. Due to the increased use of AI in phishing, the spread of AI-generated phishing messages poses a significant threat. The use of AI by attackers enables the creation of personalized and deceptively authentic phishing messages. As part of this thesis, an overview of the themes of cybercrime and phishing is first given, in particular with the purpose of explaining the different types of phishing attacks. The following is an examination of various tactics of deception, which are identified in the literature. It also explores the potential in which areas of AI attackers can be supported. The following chapter is devoted to the empirical part of the work. At the end, an online survey is being conducted, aimed at gaining insight into the assessment of the potential of AI to support phishing messages, as well as the extent of mistrust of various deceptive tactics in phishing news. The results of the work suggest that, in particular, the linguistics and personal speech in messages cause little mistrust among users. At the same time, however, it also shows that there is a general mistrust of grammar and spelling errors, as well as the use of urgent words such as “now” or “as soon as possible”. Furthermore, the potential of AI in supporting the creation of phishing messages is considered high. This suggests that there is a high potential for successful AI-generated phishing messages. The work emphasizes that further training is intended to raise awareness, especially in areas where there is least confidence, for example through cyber security training.
| Date of Award | 2024 |
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| Original language | German (Austria) |
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| Awarding Institution | - Johannes Kepler University Linz
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| Supervisor | Dietmar Nedbal (Supervisor) |
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KI-generierte Phishing Angriffe
Kroismayr, D. M. (Author). 2024
Student thesis: Master's Thesis