As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more widespread, a cybersecurity expert says there has been a rise in criminals using it to collect and exploit users’ personal information.

Fortinet chief security strategist Derek Manky says while scams like this aren’t new, they are getting harder to detect.

“Think of the traditional tools that attackers are using — it’s usually kits that they’ll get that will just send phishing emails looking for banking information,” he said.

“Those have been retuned now to be able to [do so] in an automated way, just become more effective.”

Manky says their research centre in Burnaby has seen AI increasingly utilized in targeted emails.

“They’re using it to look at social media as an example, to try to get recent posts — information that people are posting — so that they can put together a profile to launch an attack,” Manky said.

He adds these attacks are becoming harder to recognize as AI blurs the line between what’s safe and what’s not.

To avoid being a target, he suggests you think before you reply to a suspicious email and double check that the source is authentic.

“At the end of the day, attackers are trying to hack the humans,” Manky said “So the best approach of course, is an educated and cyber aware culture. We call it ‘cyber hygiene.’”