Defending SMBs Against the Rising Sophistication of AI‑Driven Cyberattacks

By Rob Ashcraft, CISO at KeyStone Solutions

KeyStone Solutions SMB customers have been dealing with a huge uptick in cyber risk as attackers increasingly weaponize artificial intelligence to scale, personalize, and automate their operations. Consequently, I wanted to share some thoughts on defending against these attacks, as we can expect threat actors to increase the use of AI to launch convincing phishing campaigns, generate deepfake frauds, and exploit vulnerabilities in seconds. It is a given that AI will continue to increase the speed and accuracy of attacks. Threat actors will be using AI to automate reconnaissance, bypass traditional security filters, and adapt in real time to defensive responses, resulting in attacks that are harder to detect and significantly faster in their execution.

As AI attack capabilities continue to grow, SMBs also continue to become a more attractive target due to their mix of sensitive data and limited budgets for effective cybersecurity controls. That said, SMB owners can still properly defend against AI attacks by sticking to and strengthening foundational security controls (they are foundational because they work). Begin with advanced email and identity protection as AI-generated phishing remains one of the most common and dangerous attack vectors. Threat actors are utilizing AI to produce email messages with near‑perfect grammar and personalized context based on reconnaissance acquired from AI tools. Implementing modern email security that uses behavior‑based detection (not just static filtering) is a must.

It is important to extend the use of MFA beyond sign-in and email to ALL critical business applications since identity compromise is often the first steppingstone in AI‑driven lateral movement. Additionally, SMBs should ensure endpoints are protected by next‑generation tools capable of detecting zero‑day and AI‑generated malware variants, rather than relying solely on signature‑based antivirus solutions.

Another crucial pillar of defense is adopting AI‑enabled monitoring and threat detection. Traditional tools cannot keep pace with the speed of modern attacks as static rules and manual workflows fail to identify subtle, fast‑moving anomalies. AI‑driven detection systems can analyze telemetry from endpoints, cloud services, identity platforms, and networks to uncover behavior patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed. These systems significantly improve response time and accuracy with automated triage. Managed Service Providers (such as KeyStone Solutions) that utilize advanced AI detection have demonstrated prevention rates exceeding 98%, proving that AI‑driven defense can match the capabilities of AI‑powered attackers.

Effective AI defense requires governance, training, AI-powered detection and response tools, and resilience planning. Many SMBs own strong security tools but lack the governance, policies, and operational rigor needed to use them effectively. Your security awareness training must include sessions on identifying deepfakes, social engineering, and AI‑generated phishing. Robust training will help close human‑factor gaps that technology cannot fully address. I recommend working with your service providers to conduct routine security audits, maintain updated incident response plans, and regularly test backup and recovery processes to minimize downtime after an attack. All of the controls mentioned above will provide a layered defense strategy that strengthens resilience, maximizes existing resources, and strengthens your security posture to stay ahead as AI redefines both offense and defense in cybersecurity.