---
title: "AI In Phishing: How Artificial Intelligence Can Act As Both, A Boon And Bane When It Comes To Phishing | Phish Protection"
description: "AI In Phishing: How Artificial Intelligence Can Act As Both, A Boon And Bane When It Comes To Phishing: Cybercrime is directly proportional to improving."
image: "https://phishprotection.com/og/blog/ai-phishing-artificial-intelligence-act-both-boon-and-bane-for-phishing.png"
canonical: "https://phishprotection.com/blog/ai-phishing-artificial-intelligence-act-both-boon-and-bane-for-phishing/"
---

Quick Answer

Cybercrime is directly proportional to improving technology; technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, and so do the malicious tactics employed by threat actors. \_They are forever on the lookout for vulnerabilities to exploit and access network systems\_. While present-day cybersecurity strategies such as \[anti-ransomware solutions\](/products/malware-and-ransomware-protection/) and \[anti-phishing solutions\](/) use AI to fight cybercrime, cyber adversaries use the same technology to turn the tables. Hence, it wouldn't be wrong to say that AI is functioning like a double-edged sword. And

Share 

[ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fai-phishing-artificial-intelligence-act-both-boon-and-bane-for-phishing%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=AI%20In%20Phishing%3A%20How%20Artificial%20Intelligence%20Can%20Act%20As%20Both%2C%20A%20Boon%20And%20Bane%20When%20It%20Comes%20To%20Phishing&url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fai-phishing-artificial-intelligence-act-both-boon-and-bane-for-phishing%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fai-phishing-artificial-intelligence-act-both-boon-and-bane-for-phishing%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fai-phishing-artificial-intelligence-act-both-boon-and-bane-for-phishing%2F&title=AI%20In%20Phishing%3A%20How%20Artificial%20Intelligence%20Can%20Act%20As%20Both%2C%20A%20Boon%20And%20Bane%20When%20It%20Comes%20To%20Phishing "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=AI%20In%20Phishing%3A%20How%20Artificial%20Intelligence%20Can%20Act%20As%20Both%2C%20A%20Boon%20And%20Bane%20When%20It%20Comes%20To%20Phishing&body=Check out this article: https%3A%2F%2Fphishprotection.com%2Fblog%2Fai-phishing-artificial-intelligence-act-both-boon-and-bane-for-phishing%2F "Share via Email") 

![Phish Protection blog post image](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/07/what-is-phishing-5731.jpg) 

Cybercrime is directly proportional to improving technology; technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, and so do the malicious tactics employed by threat actors. _They are forever on the lookout for vulnerabilities to exploit and access network systems_. While present-day cybersecurity strategies such as [anti-ransomware solutions](/products/malware-and-ransomware-protection/) and [anti-phishing solutions](/) use AI to fight cybercrime, cyber adversaries use the same technology to turn the tables. Hence, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that AI is functioning like a double-edged sword. And here is _how AI can be a boon and a bane simultaneously when it comes to phishing_.

### Malicious Actors Move With The Times

Phishing is as old as cybercrime itself. Ironically, _phishing continues to be the most effective cybersecurity threat today_, despite the advancements made by technology over the years. Statistics point out some chilling facts.

- [One in every 4200 emails](https://symantec-enterprise-blogs.security.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/threat-landscape-q1-2020) is a **phishing email**.
- **Phishing attacks** constitute more than 80% of [reported security incidents](https://www.csoonline.com/article/3153707/top-cybersecurity-facts-figures-and-statistics.html).
- **65% of adversary groups** use [spear-phishing as the primary infection vector](https://www.symantec.com/security-center/threat-report).

Over a period, scammers have modified their **phishing tactics** from simple scamming emails to sophisticated techniques like visual similarity attacks, Distributed Spam Distraction, and even [polymorphic attacks](https://analyticsindiamag.com/is-polymorphic-phishing-the-next-big-threat-in-cyber-attacks/).

_The graph shows that the industries and sectors most affected by phishing are SaaS/Webmail and financial institutions_. Surprisingly, these institutions use AI the most for their activities. Thus, it brings us to whether AI is more effective in fighting cyberattacks or perpetrating crime by malicious actors.

![What is phishing](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/07/what-is-phishing-5731.jpg) 

### Use Of AI In Fighting Cyber Attacks

Generally, organizations use various [anti-phishing solutions](/) like installing anti-malware, updating information systems, educating employees, creating [awareness](/products/phishing-awareness-training/), etc., to reduce cyberattacks due to phishing. However, at times, these methods prove inadequate to curb cybercrime. Hence, there is increasing use of AI to thwart malicious intrusions. Here are some examples of using AI as one of the best **anti-phishing solutions**.

- **\_AI As A Restricting Force: \_**_Malicious actors generally look for vulnerabilities in a network system to infiltrate them_. While organizations have improved their cybersecurity strategies, malicious actors keep finding new ways to move ahead. Hence, recent **phishing emails** continue to bypass conventional email gateways.-AI is being used to study patterns and modus operandi employed by the adversaries to defeat them at their own game. Today, _signature detection is a weak defense mechanism because malicious actors can tweak HTML codes and evade **phishing filters**_. AI, capably supported by ML, looks beyond the conventional detection methods by detecting specific patterns and words used by these threat actors and thus helps restrict such emails from reaching the users’ inboxes.
- **\_AI As An Analyzing Force: \_**Still, malicious actors go one way ahead and use social engineering and [BEC phishing scams](/blog/something-new-the-dual-impersonation-business-email-compromise-scam/) to glean information, cause data breaches, and commit financial frauds. Such emails seem to originate from the organization’s CEO or other top officials and do not usually contain payloads like malicious attachments or links. Instead, _they deceive employees in the organization by impersonating their superiors to commit fraud_.-AI comes to the rescue by analyzing the writing style, syntax, grammar, and other user behavior patterns to determine a specific user profile. This novel method helps organizations to reduce [spear phishing](/blog/spear-phishing-the-spooky-to-compromise-sensitive-information/) and **BEC attacks** to a considerable extent.

### The Other Side Of The Coin, AI For Phishing

While _AI can learn from open-source intelligence feeds to upgrade its capabilities and detect the latest phishing threats_, the adversaries also use the same techniques to formulate innovative **AI-based phishing exploits**. The following are some examples that show how AI can help threat actors achieve their malicious objectives.

![What is a zero day attack](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/07/what-is-a-zero-day-attack-3856.jpg) 
- **\_The Use Of Chatbots To Introduce Malware: \_**While _BEC or [CEO fraud](/products/ceo-fraud-protection/) remains one of the preferred modes of attacks by malicious actors_, they are increasingly using AI [chatbots](/blog/how-chatbots-becomne-a-phishing-tool/) to _trick users into clicking on suspicious links_. These cyber adversaries have also been using AI to monitor the CEO or other executive’s behavior patterns to refine their tactics and carry out more precise and effective **phishing attacks**.-AI has the inbuilt scalability to go beyond human capability and even algorithms to change the attack modes. As a result, AI helps the perpetrators maintain the unpredictability factor that humans and even AI-enabled [anti-phishing solutions](/products/advanced-threat-defense/) look for when detecting **phishing attacks**.-One such use of AI-driven malware is the keylogger that the threat actors install on the victim’s network system surreptitiously. This malware works in the background and keeps collecting information that can prove helpful to the attacker to launch significant cyberattacks.
- **\_AI Helps Threat Actors Disguise Themselves: \_**_Statistics show that spear phishing is rising_, with nearly [88% of organizations](https://www.proofpoint.com/sites/default/files/gtd-pfpt-uk-tr-state-of-the-phish-2020-a4%5Ffinal.pdf) globally experiencing spear-phishing attempts in 2019\. Today, cyber attackers use AI to develop malware and deploy untraceable malicious applications within the general data payload. Furthermore, _AI techniques use reverse engineering to hide the conditions required to be satisfied to unlock the payload_. Thus, such emails can bypass modern [anti-malware solutions](/products/malware-and-ransomware-protection/). And, it becomes impossible to detect such a criminal act.-One example of such deception is Generative Adversarial Networks or GANs, the technology working behind Deepfakes. Today, this adversarial AI has made it possible to impersonate almost anyone and keep disguising themselves simultaneously. As a result, today, there are instances of GANs being used by malicious actors to achieve their nefarious objectives.

> 

These instances prove that AI technologies can be dangerous if they fall into the wrong hands.

### Final Words

From the above discussion, it seems clear that _AI can wreak havoc on an organization’s information assets if leveraged by threat actors_. Deep fakes of higher company executives can be created to lure mid-level and lower-level employees into disclosing any critical information that could jeopardize the organization. There could be hundreds of such instances where AI could be used in the wrong way. However, this doesn’t belittle the importance of AI and adopting robust AI-based **anti-phishing tools**. Besides, [employee awareness](/products/phishing-awareness-training/) is as crucial as it ever has been; hence, organizations must prioritize training their employees on basic cyber hygiene practices.

## Topics

[ Phishing ](/tags/phishing/) 

![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/authors/brad-slavin.jpg) 

[ Brad Slavin ](/authors/brad-slavin/) 

General Manager

Founder and General Manager of DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across DuoCircle's 2,000+ customer base.

[LinkedIn Profile →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin) 

## Protect your inbox from phishing attacks

Real-time email security with 60-day free trial. No credit card required.

[Start Free Trial](https://portal.duocircle.com/cart.php?a=add&pid=101&brand=phishprotection) [View Pricing](/pricing/) 

## Related Articles

[  Foundational 5m  0ktapus, Okta Breach Helps Attackers Launch Sophisticated Supply Chain Attacks  Sep 5, 2022 ](/blog/0ktapus-okta-breach-helps-attackers-launch-sophisticated-supply-chain-attacks/)[  Foundational 4m  13 Spear Phishing Attacks Examples To Justify Investment For Phishing Prevention Solutions In Your Organization  Aug 1, 2019 ](/blog/13-spear-phishing-attacks-examples-to-justify-investment-for-phishing-prevention-solutions-in-your-organization/)[  Foundational 4m  All 14 centers of Kettering Health were affected by a massive ransomware attack, Major outage in the Ohio medical center  May 23, 2025 ](/blog/14-centers-of-kettering-health-were-affected-by-massive-ransomware-attack-in-ohio-medical-center/)[  Foundational 4m  2021 Phishing Trends You Need To Be Wary Of  Aug 2, 2021 ](/blog/2021-phishing-trends-to-be-wary-of/)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://x.com/duocirclellc","https://www.facebook.com/duocirclellc","https://github.com/duocircle"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","url":"https://phishprotection.com/contact/"},"knowsAbout":["Phishing Protection","Email Security","Anti-Phishing","Business Email Compromise","Ransomware Protection","Time of Click Protection","Office 365 Email Security","Advanced Threat Defense"]}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebSite","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]}}}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","headline":"AI In Phishing: How Artificial Intelligence Can Act As Both, A Boon And Bane When It Comes To Phishing","description":"AI In Phishing: How Artificial Intelligence Can Act As Both, A Boon And Bane When It Comes To Phishing: Cybercrime is directly proportional to improving.","url":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/ai-phishing-artificial-intelligence-act-both-boon-and-bane-for-phishing/","datePublished":"2021-07-15T09:01:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-17T15:43:10.000Z","dateCreated":"2021-07-15T09:01:15.000Z","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://phishprotection.com/authors/brad-slavin/#person","name":"Brad Slavin","url":"https://phishprotection.com/authors/brad-slavin/","jobTitle":"General Manager","description":"Brad Slavin is the founder and General Manager of DuoCircle, the company behind DMARC Report, AutoSPF, Phish Protection, and Mailhop. He founded DuoCircle in 2014 and has led the company's growth to 2,000+ customers across its email security product family. Brad's focus is product strategy, customer relationships, and the commercial and compliance side of email authentication (DPAs, SLAs, enterprise procurement).","image":"https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/authors/brad-slavin.jpg","knowsAbout":["Email Security Strategy","SaaS Product Management","Enterprise Compliance","Customer Success","Email Deliverability Business"],"worksFor":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com"},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradslavin"]},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://phishprotection.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://phishprotection.com/images/phishprotection-logo.png"},"description":"Advanced phishing protection and email security for businesses. Real-time threat defense, time-of-click protection, and seamless Office 365 integration.","parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138883901","https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/duocircle-llc","https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://github.com/duocircle"],"subOrganization":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138898167","name":"DMARC Report","url":"https://dmarcreport.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897474","name":"AutoSPF","url":"https://autospf.com"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138897912","name":"Phish Protection","url":"https://www.phishprotection.com"}]},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/company/duocircle","https://x.com/duocirclellc","https://www.facebook.com/duocirclellc","https://github.com/duocircle"],"contactPoint":{"@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"customer support","url":"https://phishprotection.com/contact/"},"knowsAbout":["Phishing Protection","Email Security","Anti-Phishing","Business Email Compromise","Ransomware Protection","Time of Click Protection","Office 365 Email Security","Advanced Threat Defense"]},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/ai-phishing-artificial-intelligence-act-both-boon-and-bane-for-phishing/"},"articleSection":"foundational","keywords":"Phishing","wordCount":1002,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://media.mailhop.org/phishprotection/images/2021/07/what-is-phishing-5731.jpg","caption":"Phish Protection blog post image","width":1200,"height":630},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".answer-block","h1"]}}
```

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://phishprotection.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Foundational","item":"https://phishprotection.com/foundational/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"AI In Phishing: How Artificial Intelligence Can Act As Both, A Boon And Bane When It Comes To Phishing","item":"https://phishprotection.com/blog/ai-phishing-artificial-intelligence-act-both-boon-and-bane-for-phishing/"}]}
```