Artificial intelligence is making cyberattacks faster, more scalable and increasingly difficult to detect, according to Interpol, which has warned companies to prepare for both AI-enhanced criminal techniques and new risks created by autonomous AI agents.
How Is AI Changing Cyberattacks?
Artificial intelligence allows cyber threats to enhance existing criminal tactics such as scams and fraud.
Neal Jetton, director of Interpol’s Cybercrime Directorate, said AI is improving the speed and scale of techniques already used by criminals rather than completely replacing traditional methods.
He described the development as an evolution rather than a revolution, with AI primarily increasing the effectiveness of existing attack methods.
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Which AI Threats Are Growing?
Jetton identified several emerging uses of AI by cybercriminals, including AI-generated phishing, business email compromise and deepfakes.
He also pointed to AI-powered brute-force techniques that can test passwords or credentials simultaneously.
Improved translation capabilities and digital identities are making it easier for criminals to operate across different languages and target institutions in different countries.
What Should Companies Protect First?
Companies should focus on protecting their most critical assets instead of attempting to defend everything equally, Jetton said.
Businesses should first identify their “crown jewels”, meaning the assets most important to keeping their operations running, and determine who would be most interested in stealing or disrupting them.
Threat intelligence can then be used to understand adversaries’ tactics and technologies and tailor security measures accordingly.
Jetton said companies should assess whether they are more likely to face opportunistic criminals or sophisticated persistent threat actors before deciding how to allocate defensive resources.
Why Is Cybersecurity Still a Boardroom Issue?
A disconnect can remain between senior management and cybersecurity strategy, according to the warning.
Cyber risk is increasingly discussed at management level, but cybersecurity still needs to become fully integrated into broader company decision-making.
The concern is that organisations may recognise cyber threats without sufficiently connecting them to business strategy, operational priorities and risk management.
What New Risks Do AI Agents Create?
Agentic AI presents a different category of risk because such systems can potentially act on a user’s behalf.
As these systems become more capable, they may extend beyond simply producing incorrect information and begin taking actions that have real-world consequences.
Jetton said an AI system that gives incorrect information presents one kind of problem. The risk becomes more serious if the system performs an action based on that incorrect information, particularly in areas such as financial services.
Why Does Trust Become More Important?
The risks surrounding agentic AI are intensified by the level of trust people place in technology compared with areas such as financial services.
People may take a more cautious approach to financial products, relying on safeguards such as PIN codes and fraud alerts. With technology, however, users may be more willing to accept new devices and applications without applying the same level of caution.
As AI systems gain greater ability to act on users’ behalf, maintaining security and controlling that trust will become increasingly important.
What This Means for Users
AI is helping cybercriminals make phishing, deepfakes, password attacks and other scams faster and easier to scale. Users should treat AI-generated messages, calls and digital identities with greater caution, particularly when money or credentials are involved.
The420 Takeaway
Interpol’s warning shows that AI is strengthening familiar cybercrime methods while agentic AI creates new risks by acting on users’ behalf. Strong verification and tighter control over what AI systems can access or execute are becoming increasingly important.
About the author — Ayesha Aayat writes on cybercrime, digital safety, and emerging online threats. Her work focuses on public awareness, legal clarity, and technology-driven risks.
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