SINGAPORE: A majority of small and medium enterprises ( SMEs ) have turned to artificial intelligence ( AI ) to improve their operations, but may not be doing enough to ensure their security.
According to a recent survey of business owners conducted by the Association of SMEs ( ASME), 90 % of respondents had tried implementing some sort of AI solution. Shipping and route are two of the areas where they are using this technology, according to ASME leader Ang Yuit.
The association has also witnessed a 20 % increase in the percentage of businesses reporting falling prey to scams year over year.
” Many organizations are concerned about whether they can be hacked, and whether they would gain money financially, especially when a violation happens”, he said.
Their problems are not just related to AI, but also to other breaches like fraud and hacking, he continued. Despite their concerns, some are willing to take a “wait and see” view towards improving their protection, he said.
A part company lately experienced phishing scams when its e-mail system was compromised, and an intruder posed as an employee and demanded that a customer transfer funds to a different bank account, he shared.
More and more companies are targeted for varying forms of that. So you can only imagine that the threat of even worse hacking, using deepfakes, and using AI, did increase,” he said.
” The problem is that many companies may not have the speed, particularly when you’re talking about SMEs, to really effectively cope with it”, he added. He claimed that the majority of firms rely on financial institutions to protect them from scams.