AI Is Getting Really Good at Messing With Cybercriminals
AI-powered bots are being used to engage and gather intelligence from cybercriminals.
Companies like Apate are developing AI bots that mimic victims to engage with phone and online scammers. These bots are designed to keep scammers on the line for extended periods, wasting their time and collecting valuable intelligence on their operations, such as scam URLs and bank details. This approach aims to disrupt scamming activities at scale and provide insights to aid in combating cybercrime.
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The lesson from this incident
Full lessonTraditional defenses focus on blocking threats after they reach potential victims, but AI-driven counter-scam bots like those developed by Apate take a proactive stance by engaging scammers directly and disrupting their operations. By mimicking real victims, these bots consume scammers' limited time and resources while simultaneously collecting actionable intelligence such as fraudulent URLs and financial account details. This matters because scam operations are volume-driven businesses — reducing their efficiency and exposing their infrastructure can meaningfully degrade their ability to harm real people. The intelligence gathered also feeds broader cybercrime investigations, helping law enforcement and organizations stay ahead of evolving tactics. This emerging approach highlights how offensive-minded, automated tools can complement traditional defensive security measures.
What helps against this
How we list vendors- Deception and honeypots
An attacker who gets in quietly can explore the network for weeks before any alarm goes off.
- Threat intelligence
Attack campaigns reach your sector, suppliers or software before your team hears about them.