Top 5 AI-Driven Security Threats for Family Offices in 2023

Murali Nadarajah, CIO at Eton Solutions, co-authored this article with AtlasFive AI-tool EtonGPT. EtonGPT is the first family office large language model that has been fine-tuned with family office best practices. Built on GPT-4, it operates on a secure, private instance for each client.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the financial services sector has ushered in transformative changes. However, with these advancements come challenges, especially in cybersecurity. AI has both fortified security measures and opened new vulnerabilities for cybercriminals to exploit. This complexity is particularly concerning for family offices, often smaller entities lacking the resources that large financials institutions have.

Understanding these security threats is crucial. By staying informed, leaders within family offices can proactively bolster their defenses, ensuring the protection of their clients' assets and information. Implementing cybersecurity best practices, coupled with an updated platform and a top-tier security team, offers the best protection. In line with the Sun Tzu adage "know thy enemy," we highlight the top 5 AI-driven security threats targeting family offices in 2023.

Family Office Security Threat #1: AI-Enhanced Phishing / Email Compromise

With the integration of AI, traditional phishing tactics have significantly evolved. Cybercriminals now employ machine learning algorithms to design personalized phishing emails that closely mimic legitimate communications. These AI-driven attacks meticulously analyze users' behaviors, their past interactions, and digital footprints to craft compelling deceptive messages.

In 2022, the financial sector was a prime target, accounting for approximately 36% of global phishing attacks. Family offices, often having limited in-house cybersecurity measures compared to large financial institutions, find themselves particularly at risk. The challenge with family offices is the need to communicate high-value information with family members, over which the office may have minimal control regarding email and other communication accounts. This makes them especially susceptible to messages that convincingly impersonate family members or even originate from a compromised family member's account—both of which are treacherously hard to detect.

As AI continues to enhance the deceptive capabilities of attackers, making their emails appear more credible, it's crucial for employees within family offices to heighten their vigilance, recognize suspicious communications, and ensure that they input their credentials only on authenticated sites. The mantra for family offices remains: they are "only as strong as their weakest link." Just one lapse by an employee can compromise the entire network.

Family Office Security Threat #2: Intelligent Data Theft

New AI-powered hacker tools have the capability to swiftly scan and pinpoint high-value data, allowing cybercriminals to intrude, extract vital information, and depart without detection. The sheer speed and precision of such breaches make them a formidable threat to family offices.

While many associate data theft with ransomware attacks aimed at direct financial gains, its core intention is often the acquisition and subsequent sale or use of the stolen information.

Family offices, which cater to ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals, are particularly susceptible. The stakes are monumental. By gaining access to sensitive client information, perpetrators can siphon funds, impersonate UHNW individuals for high-value transactions, or drain accounts. The magnitude of potential losses is amplified when one considers the delay in recognizing such breaches.

The unforeseen advent of COVID-19 in early 2020 and the consequent swift transition to remote working further exacerbated these vulnerabilities. Many family offices, unprepared for this sudden digital shift, found their personnel grappling with unfamiliar online systems and software. While this digital transformation ensured business continuity, it simultaneously expanded their exposure to potential data breaches. Even as offices resume normal operations in 2023, the earlier forced immersion into a digital realm, often without adequate cybersecurity training, means that vast amounts of confidential data remain at risk.

Family Office Security Threat #3: AI-Driven Malware: A Stealthy and Adaptive Threat to Family Offices

The advent of AI-driven malware has significantly heightened the security risks faced by family offices. Unlike traditional malware, which is static and can be detected and neutralized over time, AI-powered malware boasts the ability to adapt and evolve. By understanding the behavior of the systems they infiltrate, these sophisticated threats can evade detection and amplify their damage, posing a unique challenge to cybersecurity efforts.

Family offices need to be especially vigilant given that malware often relies on deceiving individuals, be it staff or clients. Both groups can be inadvertently duped into installing malware on their devices, whether for business or personal use. Shockingly, one financial services firm discovered that 39% of their newly onboarded clients had active malware on their devices. This alarming statistic suggests that many family office clients might already be victims of malware, with their personal details, intellectual assets, and financial data under threat.

While external threats to family offices are manifold, one study pinpointed that a staggering 94% of cyber-attacks in the financial sector utilized one of four primary methods: SQL injections (SQLi), Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Local File Inclusion (LFI), and Object-Graph Navigation Language (OGNL) Java Injection. These zero-day attacks exploit vulnerabilities in technology products and are not solely aimed at family offices. However, smaller specialized entities, particularly those lacking robust in-house IT or vendor management capabilities, become prime targets. Their limited IT awareness and potentially incomplete knowledge of the software they utilize makes them especially vulnerable.

Family Office Security Threat #4: AI-Powered Ransomware is an Escalating Threat

The evolution of ransomware attacks, now supercharged by AI, presents a formidable challenge to family offices. These enhanced attacks are not just more frequent but also increasingly strategic. AI enables ransomware to evaluate the worth of the encrypted data, allowing attackers to calibrate ransom demands based on the significance of the data. Additionally, the AI automation aspect facilitates simultaneous targeting of multiple victims and tailors the ransomware according to the specific environment of the victim.

Historically, ransomware predominantly targeted substantial global corporations, given their vast reservoirs of both consumer and internal corporate data. Yet, the proliferation of ransomware types has broadened the scope, bringing smaller and mid-sized businesses into the crosshairs. These entities, often due to financial constraints or scale, might lack a state-of-the-art cybersecurity infrastructure, including an in-house cyber security operations center (SOC).

The modus operandi of ransomware attacks typically involves encrypting or extracting an organization's data, thereby denying staff access to crucial business information. The attacker, in most cases, pledges to restore or return the data upon receiving a ransom, generally in cryptocurrency. However, there's always the lurking uncertainty of whether the attacker will uphold their end of the bargain or if they might have replicated the data for future exploitation.

Family offices, stewards of invaluable client financial data, are particularly vulnerable to such ransomware threats. Even with a recent backup in place, the mere threat from an attacker to expose client information on the dark web can be catastrophic, leading to further security compromises and tarnishing the office's reputation.

Ransomware attacks on financial services have increased from 55% in 2022 to 64% in 2023, which is nearly double the 34% reported in 2021. Only 1 in 10 attacks were stopped before encryption took place, making a total of 81% of organizations a victim of data encryption. Given this escalating trajectory, it's imperative for family offices, to bolster their defenses against the looming specter of ransomware.

Family Office Security Threat #5: Increasing DDOS Attack Sophistication

The landscape of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDOS) attacks has transformed with the advent of AI. While DDOS attacks have been a persistent threat, the integration of AI has made them more potent and adaptive. These AI-driven DDOS attacks excel in real-time traffic pattern analysis, tailoring their strategies to inflict maximum disruption. Additionally, their ability to predict and counteract defensive responses enhances their efficacy and makes mitigation efforts more complex.

A DDOS attack is orchestrated by flooding a company's server with spurious connection requests, rendering it inoperative. As a result, genuine business transactions are obstructed, potentially forcing the server to go offline. Financial entities, given their extensive integration with payment portals, customer accounts, and other financial institutions, are particularly susceptible to such attacks. By targeting one institution, malicious actors can compromise multiple associated services and businesses. Family offices, often reliant on smaller server infrastructures and potentially lacking dedicated cybersecurity teams, emerge as soft targets for such sophisticated attacks.

The repercussions of a DDOS attack can be severe. Companies may find themselves offline, needing to transition to backup servers. Moreover, some attackers employ a dual-strategy: while the DDOS serves as a smokescreen, diverting the security team's attention, they concurrently initiate another form of cyber intrusion. Others might offer to cease their assault in exchange for a ransom. Cybercriminals launched approximately 7.9 million Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in the first half of 2023, representing a 31% year-over-year increase. A prime example is the "Fancy Lazarus" DDOS Extortion campaign, an evolution of the earlier "Lazarus Bear Armada Campaign". Here, attackers unleashed a DDOS on a financial institution, following up with threats of an intensified attack unless a cryptocurrency ransom was paid. Given these escalating threats, family offices must prioritize bolstering their cybersecurity defenses.

Partnering with Established Players is Key to Prevention

In this digital age, AI-driven cybersecurity solutions play a pivotal role. While AI introduces novel challenges, it's integral to the defense strategy. To stay ahead, family offices must employ AI-powered security solutions that can proactively predict, detect, and counter threats in real-time. Ensuring clients' trust and confidence in an increasingly digitalized environment goes beyond mere defense; it demands cutting-edge solutions.

Eton Solutions, a recognized leader in this field, offers an advanced platform tailored for family offices, harnessing the power of AI to combat evolving cyber threats. Their platform not only boasts AI-enabled threat detection and real-time response but also emphasizes continuous learning to adapt to the ever-changing threat landscape.

Choosing a family office software provider like Eton Solutions, which is secure, industry-certified, and backed by a dedicated SOC team, can significantly bolster security for both Single Family Offices (SFOs) and Multi-Family Offices (MFOs). Essential features such as single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) ensure that sensitive information remains confidential and login credentials are used only by authorized personnel.

Beyond meeting SOC2 and ISO27001 compliance and other regulatory requirements, elite platforms like Eton Solutions’ offer:

Managed security services, taking care of patching, maintenance, and addressing security vulnerabilities.

• 24x7 security monitoring and incident response to ensure continuous protection.
• Adaptability to cater to the diverse security requirements of various clients.
• Alignment with industry security standards, family offices can readily inherit the maturity that comes from adopting and internalizing the rigorous standards and certifications set by Eton Solutions.
• Advanced cloud-native security, enabling sophisticated authorization and access protocols.
• Comprehensive training for employees and clients about potential threats like phishing, targeted social engineering, and device security.

Although complete protection against all cyber threats is a tall order, partnering with a sophisticated and secure family office software platform offers the best defense. AtlasFive, with its proven track record in top-tier security, ensures that clients' sensitive financial data remains safeguarded. Investing in such partnerships gives family offices the peace of mind they deserve in today's challenging cybersecurity landscape.