Cyberthreats reached a new high this year, with AI playing a major role

In 2023, online threats such as adware, malvertising, and spyware spiked during summer, contrary to the seasonal lull usually observed. Avast reported its tools blocked a record of over a billion attacks monthly during this period, attributing the surge to increased use of AI by cybercriminals. New threats include “Invisible Adware” and “Love-GPT” which exploit mobile devices and dating apps respectively. Japan, Greece, and the US saw the most finance scams.