AI can kill banks: Cybersecurity’s disinformation gap

• Almost 61% of study participants who consumed the fake news were fundamentally willing to withdraw their money from the respective bank.
• Just over 33% of respondents rated this as “very likely,” and another 27% as “probable.”
• Translated into financial expenditure, according to the study, a £10 investment in AI content generation (around US$13) can be enough to “shift” assets worth £1 million.

“With the help of AI tools, we generated false headlines whose narratives were intended to play on existing fears and biases. The key message was: ‘Customer funds are not safe,’” explain the study authors.

According to their report, the experts primarily used the short message service X to spread masses of corresponding posts and memes.

“Given how quickly, easily, and inexpensively effective disinformation campaigns can be set up, the financial sector must be prepared,” the researchers warn. Unfortunately, however, banks often lack the appropriate specialists: “Trust mapping for customers, rogue actor mapping, or war gaming are things that financial institutions deal with reactively rather than proactively.”