Artificial intelligence is driving a new and dangerous phase of cybercrime, described as the fifth wave, according to a new report by cybersecurity firm Group IB. The company said this phase is marked by cheap and ready made tools that allow criminals to launch complex attacks with ease.
In its report published on January 20, the Singapore based firm explained that cybercrime has evolved through four earlier stages, from simple malware in the 1990s to large scale ecosystem and supply chain attacks in the 2010s and early 2020s. Since 2022, it said, cybercrime has entered what it calls the era of “weaponized AI”.
Group IB chief executive Dmitry Volkov wrote that AI and generative AI tools now “turn human skills into scalable services” and make cybercrime “cheaper, faster and more scalable”.
One of the most alarming trends is the use of AI to create fake content that impersonates real people. This material is used to trick victims into taking actions or to bypass identity checks and security systems.
The firm found that synthetic identity kits, which include AI video actors, cloned voices and biometric data, are being sold for as little as five dollars. Deepfake services are available through subscriptions starting at ten dollars per month.
Analysts also recorded a sharp rise in discussions about these tools on dark web forums, from fewer than 50000 messages a year between 2020 and 2022 to around 300000 messages every year since 2023.
During the report launch in London, Anton Ushakov from Group IB said these tools have become “a commodity”. He added, “What is really interesting is that not only pre recorded deepfakes are popular, but also cheap tools enabling live deepfake schemes.”
Phishing has also entered a new phase. Kits are now sold at prices ranging from the cost of a streaming subscription to 200 dollars a month. Ushakov said AI now automates everything from choosing victims to sending messages. Some tools even use AI agents to run campaigns and adapt them in real time.
The report also found that criminals are building their own dark language models that have no ethical limits. These tools are used for scams, malware, fake websites and disinformation. Subscriptions range from 30 to 200 dollars a month, with over 1000 users.
Craig Jones, a former global cybercrime official, said AI has not changed criminal motives but has “dramatically increased the speed, scale and sophistication” of cybercrime.
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