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Since FarmVille, gamers have been jumping from one farming game to the next in pursuit of the highest rewards. Digital tokens called non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become a game-changer by giving gamers ownership rights to the in-game digital assets on their farm. That’s the allure of a new MMOG game called ’ whose farm animal NFTs are selling for an on the Chinese NFT marketplace Treasureland. The price of an MNA NFT for Berta the cow or Helga the sheep may seem exorbitant but it could be the best investment these gamers ever make in the blockchain. ‘My Neighbor Alice average price of 1,880 USD The social simulation game was designed to introduce gamers to blockchain gaming and the collectible digital tokens behind a global craze in gaming. NFTs turn digital assets into verifiable, tradable tokens that allow gamers to own their cherished digital goods. What they win, create, and buy in one gaming world they can now play, trade, and sell in another. This tamper-proof evidence of ownership in a collectibles market devalued by forgeries is behind a global boom in the trading of NFT-backed digital assets. The Chinese gamers are part of a surge in hobbyists during the COVID pandemic contributing to for newly tokenized collectibles such as sports trading cards. record high prices The throngs of gamers in China and Japan, the two largest online gaming markets, entering the NFT marketplace are pushing blockchain gaming into the mainstream. The infusion of NFTs into Asia’s gaming and consumer culture can be seen from China’s luxury goods market to Japan’s manga culture. The Rising Sun on Global Blockchain Gaming Readying for an onslaught of Asian gamers into blockchain gaming, more Asian crypto businesses are setting up shop in The Sandbox gaming metaverse. Most recently, leading Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck acquired a large number of LANDs in the form of ERC721 non-fungible tokens for its NFT marketplace. is the biggest development in the Japanese NFT market since J-Pop girl band top charter SKE48 instantly sold out its first set of NFTs in the fall. Japan’s beloved J-Pop bands, through the issuance of NFTs and promotion of crypto brands, have been one of several key influencers on gamers in the NFT market. CoinCheck’s NFT marketplace Asian investors, who have become the largest backers of NFT art, are another. Singapore-based investor Vignesh Sundaresan, known as Metakovan, recently for the first crypto art auctioned at Christie’s, Beeple’s ‘EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS.’ The runner-up was China’s Justin Sun of Tron and Rainberry (formerly BitTorrent). paid $69.3 million The Emerging Asian NFT Art Scene This year, crypto art will become fully immersed in Asian culture, as open and launch. The comics are being directed by none other than the creative director of Animoca Brands, the parent of The Sandbox, Kevin Abosch. Kevin, whose crypto art has sold for $1 million, is behind blockchain game F1 Delta Time, where tokenized Pirelli tires and engine blocks sell alongside $75k digital racing car collectibles as top-selling gaming NFTs. crypto art exhibits Manga-inspired crypto comic books Perhaps the ultimate status sign that NFTs have arrived in Asia is their presence in the Chinese luxury goods market. A pair of luxury sneakers is becoming a must-have item among some gamers. New Chinese digital brand is selling NFT-tokenized sneakers ranging in price from $1,500–$10,000, with one FEWO shoe by FEWOCIOUS recently . Atari sneakers with a holographic theme are currently best-selling NFTs. RTFKT fetching $28,000 Asia artists, like their counterparts elsewhere, see the opportunity to sell art and find jobs in the crypto economy. Over are listed on China’s BCAEX digital art gallery on the blockchain, which has sold close to half a million dollars in the crypto-collectibles. Meanwhile, Asian voxel artists are quickly making a name for themselves in NFT game art. of The Sandbox's most recent VoxEdit Celebrity Contest were from Japan. Many of them will find jobs creating digital assets for blockchain games. 10,000 tokenized artworks Two of the three winners Winning entry of voxel artist @tak_akkiy to The Sandbox VoxEdit Celebrity Contest Some of these gaming NFTs already have market value before the game releases, such as the charming avatars and fantastical creatures they fight in the ‘Hack the Tao’ game created by Italian artists Sergio Scalet and Nadia Squarci — a project incubated by . The award-winning ‘Hack the Tao’ crypto art has been exhibited globally. The Sandbox's Game Makers Fund Celebrity-backed brands are valued the highest. Digital game collectibles based on some of the more than 60 major IP brands including those of the Smurfs and Care Bears in The Sandbox already sell at a premium. Sandbox theme park owner to bring NFTs for gaming, music, and more to the Atari Metaverse. Rappers Ja Rule and Soulja, football great Rob Gronkowski, and techno-pop artist Grimes are some of the celebrities issuing NFTs, which could end up in games. Atari has partnered with Bondly The Global NFT Gaming Economy With digital wallets stashed full of NFTs, gamers can leave closed gaming worlds and participate in the global economy. Blockchain gaming shifts economic power from gaming owners to the players. The value of NFTs became material for many unemployed workers in developing countries during the COVID pandemic. In The Philippines, an ‘ ’ craze took hold as word spread that players were supplementing and even replacing their salary playing blockchain games. ‘Axi Infinity’ is the number one blockchain game on Ethereum, with close to 24,000 players. Axie Infinity , a community of blockchain gamers from The Philippines emerged to invest in NFT businesses and assets. The guild has set up its headquarters at its Sandbox estate, a recently acquired 144-plot estate, which is in addition to a 6x6 Sandbox estate and 88-plot Savanna estate in ‘Axie Infinity’. In addition to play2earn earnings potential, the guild expects members to benefit from job creation for guild members in open gaming economies. Yield Guild Games Because NFTs can be used across games on interoperable blockchains, the Chinese virtual farmers and Filipino Axie collectors could trade their digital items on other gaming platforms anywhere in the world. The NFT gaming world is rapidly expanding. Playtoearn lists 219 blockchain games with close to 10,000 NFTs already listed — a drop in the NFT bucket. The Sandbox has more than two dozen new games ready to launch in its metaverse. Each digital asset in a game — from a castle or dragon to a mushroom — can be turned into an NFT with the . VoxEdit digital asset and NFT maker

Farm Animal NFTs are Selling for an Average Price of 1,880 USD 

Image via Alina K. from Behance In the ever-changing and fast-paced fashion industry, in order to stay current, it is essential for brands to successfully navigate the developing landscape and the constant growth of new social platforms. Fashion brands have to be ahead of the curve in order to stay connected with all possible consumers  – the new and the old. Italian fashion house Fendi has seen major success over the past few years launching innovative digital campaigns, all of which put the younger generation on center-stage. The Rise of the Gen Z reported in early 2020 that just one year prior, Gen Z surpassed both millennials and Baby Boomers and took the title of the largest documented generation. Aside from being the largest generation, they are also the most hyper-connected. Born between 1996 and 2010, they have grown up immersed in technology. The New York Post Social media has had a significant impact on Gen Z due to their constant content exposure. This not only influences them as individuals, but also as consumers. It was recently that 73% of Gen Z expect brands and retailers to communicate with them through social media about new products and promotions. With the rise of the new generation, comes a new wave of social media reported Image via Cassie on Pinterest Tailoring to the Insta-Generation Over the past decade, Instagram has been the go-to social media platform to launch and drive marketing campaigns. The app has been a top choice for many within the fashion industry as the platform provides brands with the opportunity to curate an entire profile that abides by, and sells their story. notes, “Without the entry barriers of magazine advertising — where a one-page glossy ad can cost tens of thousands of dollars – sites like Instagram, a fashionista favourite, have allowed unknown labels to find an audience with canny or eye-catching campaigns.” Business of Fashion Unknown labels are not the only ones pushing their digital presence, it was also that in recent years, Louis Vuitton has allocated half of their marketing costs solely to digital media. In today’s day and age it is imperative that brands are making the most of their online presence in order to reach the next wave of consumers, those who hold the digital world in high regard. revealed Fendi is a luxury brand that is taking their online presence a step further that simply highlighting campaigns on their feed. The Italian fashion house utilizes all aspects of Instagram to market their brand and to ensure they are relatable to this younger ‘Insta-Generation’. Whether it be through creating bespoke face filters to drive conversation around certain campaigns, highlighting runway shows on Instagram’s new ‘Reels’ feature or simply pushing collaborations with Instagram’s top fashion influencers, Fendi is at the forefront of it all. Image via ad.doubleclick.net The New Digital Age Fendi is no stranger to the digital age. In 2017, the fashion house launched a 360° communication platform in hopes of, again, connecting with a younger generation. F Is For… was a digital platform that was created by millennials for millennials. The site fed consumers Fendi DNA, but through UI design, allowed them to take charge in how they engaged with the information. This digital innovation was to be “one of the most authentic tools for the house to reach new audiences”. The content on the site was filtered and categorized through five different paths, giving users access to editorials, profiles, hidden city recommendations, curated playlists and more; all of which had been designed and tailored to excite younger consumers. Through contemporary technology the brand created a cutting-edge digital platform that touched on and celebrated all aspects of millennial lifestyle, that once again called upon an up and coming generation. quoted Image via Fashionista Beyond the Instagram Horizon Entering the 2020s brought substantial change to many aspects of society. The rise of the digital platform, TikTok was one of them. Once again attempting to stay ahead of the curve, Fendi launched their TikTok profile in July of 2020 in partnership with Disney star, and ‘gen-zer,’ Sabrina Carpenter. Looking back to prior success, the brand revisited their “#FisforFendi” campaign, revamping the concept by posting 6 TikTok videos featuring the 22 year old social media star. The majority of these videos gained at least 800k views. Going off of their immense success on the video sharing app, the brand has gone on to highlight other campaigns with the help of TikTok influencers such as . The fashion house has even gone as far as inviting prominent content creators such as to document backstage life of #MFW using the live video feature on the app, bringing their younger viewers closer to the world of fashion than ever before. Brittany Xavier Wisdom Kaye What’s Next? This younger generation holds more power than one may think, they have the power to cause a shift in the fashion industry. As luxury brands adapt to this new wave of consumers, will they follow in the footsteps of this generation? It is very possible that in the near future we will see brands learning from their younger followers and taking necessary steps towards a more optimistic future.

F is for Fendi: How Luxury Brands Cater to Gen Z via Social Media

is a multi-tool component that keeps a company afloat through many channels and approaches. It is a multiverse of metrics–you just have to find what works for you. But how do you decide whether to stick with proven approaches or follow the latest trends? The truth is, the nature of the digital landscape is ever-changing and you can never really know when the latest marketing obsession will once again become obsolete. It’s just the nature of things and in 2024 we all have to deal with it. The good news is that the overall trends are not as fleeting as they might seem, and keeping up to date with forecasts for the upcoming months can give your business the much-needed push to catch your audience’s attention in the highly competitive field. Now, few things seem to be especially prominent amongst marketing trends right now, but before we dive headfirst into modern marketing, let’s recap the basics. Marketing Why should you care? While sticking to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy certainly has its benefits, in the modern day and age staying up to date is imperative to building a successful business. Your audience has ever-changing and evolving preferences, and your competitors continually explore new strategies to see what works and what doesn’t. If you want to stay relevant, you have to put effort into understanding what "staying relevant"  in your field means. Is it creating an AI campaign for a new feature or partnering up with a user for an honest review? Your competitors reside in the same limitless space as you do–the internet, the main thing that drives progress and competition. There is plenty of useful information getting out daily, the question is: who is going to get there first? First, set your priorities In response to the very dynamic nature of social media marketing, brands are now ready to focus their attention on platforms that closely align with their goals and audience preferences. Now, that doesn’t mean you should abandon all channels except one; the goal is to prioritize a few and keep the rest low-key because having a prominent social media presence is the hallmark of good, recognizable branding. You can save time and target a specific platform instead of many, like spending your time and money on campaigns when your audience spends most of their time on . Instead, create engaging YouTube videos, showcase product demos, collaborate with influencers, build a strong presence through community engagement, and curate visually appealing content on Facebook YouTube Instagram. This is just an example, and the way you do it will be unique to your product and your goals. By identifying your priorities you can direct your attention where it needs to go, effectively reaching and engaging your audience, driving brand awareness and sales in a competitive market. Now that your priorities are set, we can get into the upcoming trends. The creativity of AI In recent years the creativity of AI has gotten truly mind-blowing. With the recent we have seen a new horizon for the creative potential of AI. While this specific tool is not released just yet, there are plenty that can help you in the process of content generation. Major brands are already collaborating with AI to create new-age marketing campaigns. , which ended up winning at the Drum Awards Festival, an annual global competition for marketers. And Nike allowed their customers to –powered by AI. , unveiling of Sora Heinz launched one with DALLE-2 design their own unique pair of shoes There are plenty of examples out there. Big companies are using artificial intelligence not only for content creation but for ideation and strategy too. There are research assistants, generative apps, tools that can enhance resolution and ones that can make up a whole marketing strategy. Can it replace a whole marketing team? Probably not, but AI will for sure become a much more present trend in the coming years. Yet, here you’ll have to be more careful since to downrank AI-generated summarized content. Google is already implementing measures User-generated content In contrast to using machines to do the work, chances are we will be seeing much more user-generated content in the near future. There’s already plenty of it, and according to the brand engagement rises by 28% when consumers see both brand and user-generated content, and user-generated videos gain 10x views than brand videos posted on YouTube. It’s expected–we trust people, and a human presence in a campaign makes it much more trustworthy. Statistics can back this up–85% of users find user-made content more influential than branded content (also according to the Gitnux report). These days creating a tikTok with a creator raving about your product is more likely to get you more reach than placing a billboard on Times Square. As you can see, an unpolished video can have more benefits than a perfectly crafted campaign. It’s authentic, and that’s its main allure. It also has to be done right. A big part of this is generating an environment that will eventually build a strong brand community. Regular communication and giveaways will make your users more likely to want to take part in creating content for you. And when they do, reward it! It’s already a very cost-effective tool, so you can direct your resources towards supporting this type of engagement. But if you choose to use this approach for your business don’t make it feel plastic. The modern consumer is overwhelmed with content and will be able to easily distinguish real from fake. Gitnux Marketdata report Micro-Influencer Marketing On the road to authenticity, brands are now scaling down their collaborations with influencers. In the past years, we’ve seen it all and a brand deal from a celebrity is now simply a given in the media space. But the market is oversaturated and brands are looking for new ways to engage the same audiences by slightly changing their approach. The by the Influencer Marketing Hub highlights a notable preference among marketers and businesses towards collaborating with nano- and micro-influencers. The reason is simple–higher engagement rates. Why? Because smaller-scale influencers seem more trustworthy. And, this strategy is much more cost-effective for the brand. 2024 State of Influencer Marketing report Partnership Marketing Competition is the driver of progress. But what if you make your rivals (or just brands that you probably share an audience with) your collaborators? You already have so much in common: your audience and your goals. That’s enough to entertain the idea of partnership marketing to help both of your brands grow and reach new customers. Imagine the value you bring–doubled. This approach also allows you to cut costs, share resources, and exchange ideas with other teams. luxury brands partner with hotels, tech companies collaborate with cafe chains, and retail stores are more than happy to spice things up by introducing a non-profit company special offer. Brands do this all the time; High-quality content No matter which direction you go, high-quality content will remain a priority. We’ve all seen how annoying those extremely low-quality mobile ads can get. While this can get users’ attention, forget about it positioning your company as a respectable brand. These days humanity is overwhelmed with the amount of content that is up for consumption and so much of it is not at all well-made. It’s an opportunity for you to earn customer loyalty by putting effort into every step of content creation: from ideation to execution. To further perfect your process you can conduct interviews with your potential customers to see what matters to them. This way you will be more attuned to your audience, so setting up an appropriate Tone of Voice and tailoring the type of content to your clients is bound to bring much better results. Your work is you An easy way to up the quality and effectiveness of the marketing content you produce is to remember that what you do is a reflection of who you are, and the way your brand communicates with its audience is a reflection of the values that lie at the core of your company. Treating your potential customers with respect by creating relevant, engaging, high-quality content will build a bond that is not achievable by dry marketing techniques and metrics.

2024 Marketing Insights: Content, Partnerships, AI Implementation and More

The Crash That Brought the Shadow to the Light. On the morning of July 5, 2017, a gray Toyota Camry turned into the cul-de-sac of a neighborhood in Bangkok in a subdivision on the western edge of the city. A driver makes a miscalculation on a 180-degree turn and accidentally causes a collision with a front gate on a model home and real estate office. The driver exits the vehicle obviously upset about the event and needs to speak with the owner of the model house about the accident. After a significant time elapsed, Alexander Caze surfaced from his home to discuss the collision at the front gate of his home. As Alexander Caze made his way to have the conversation with the person in the vehicle, the FBI stormed the property arresting Alexander Caze aka “Alpha02” aka “Admin online” the owner of the Dark Web marketplace AlphaBay. Riches to Wretchedness. Alexander Cazes was just 25 and the CEO of EBX Technologies, a company that offered website creation services for businesses. Or at least that is what Alexandre Cazes said when someone asked about his occupation. According to Cazes’s father, Alexandre was a computer genius who started his own web design business at 17, had a high IQ, AND specialized in everything from web development to encryption services. While still a teenager, Cazes was believed to have started his first company, EBX Technologies, selling computers and helping small businesses set up their websites. His IT presence was clear to see; authorities traced Alexandre as far back as 2008, posting advice on a tech forum on how to remove a virus from a digital photo. Cazes grew up near Montreal and his family said he was a genius. In the shadows, Alexandre was the alleged mastermind of AlphaBay. According to publicly available information on AlphaBay prior to its takedown, one AlphaBay staff member claimed that it serviced over 200,000 users and 40,000 vendors. Around the time of the takedown, there were over 250,000 listings for illegal drugs and toxic chemicals on AlphaBay, and over 100,000 listings for stolen and fraudulent identification documents and access devices, counterfeit goods, malware and other computer hacking tools, firearms, and fraudulent services. Comparatively, the Silk Road dark web marketplace, which was seized by law enforcement in November 2013, had reportedly approximately 14,000 listings for illicit goods and services at the time of seizure and was the largest dark web marketplace at the time. . All Wrongdoing can be Traced to an Excessive Attachment to Material Wealth Alexander Cazes biggest vulnerability turned out to be his penchant for bragging about his newly acquired wealth and status. Alexandre Cazes claimed his worth was about $23 million US, including $12.5 million in properties and vehicles, and the rest in cash and cryptocurrencies. Cazes's assets seized by the U.S. government included $6.6 million Cdn in Bitcoin, $2.4 million in Ethereum, $622,000 in Monero, and $980,512 in Zcash. He had at least 11 bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchange accounts registered in his name or his wife's name in Thailand, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Beyond cash, Cazes had a taste for luxury vehicles, including a 2013 Lamborghini Aventador, a Porsche Panamera, a Mini Cooper, and a BMW motorcycle. He had three properties in Bangkok, and a vacation property in Phuket, Thailand. Subtle Clues That Were Not So Subtle. Alexandre Cazes lived a seemingly quiet life for more than a year with his Thai girlfriend in a middle-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Bangkok, but the flashy cars he drove stood out. All in an area where people drive pickup trucks and children tool around on plastic tricycles, and there was the nearly $1 million, metallic gray Lamborghini, a Porsche, and then the Mini Cooper for his girlfriend. Nothing except expensive cars, which were completely out of place in the neighborhood where homes cost less than $120,000. The neighbors thought Alexandre Cazes worked in the hotel business. neighbor, who asked not to be named because the case involves crime, said Cazes rarely left the house before noon. She said she got her first good look at him one day when he was outside, trying to photograph a monitor lizard that had crawled out of a deserted field nearby. “We smiled at each other, that’s it,” she said. One Whispers in the Dark That Awoke a Giant. Alexandre Cazes believed that crypto’s anonymity would protect him but just as crypto had opened new markets for the criminal world, it opened up opportunities for law enforcement. According to U.S. government documents, Cazes had an estimated net worth of around $23 million. This wealth was diversified across real estate in Thailand, Cyprus, and Antigua, luxury cars, and liquid assets such as cash and cryptocurrencies. Specifically, $12.5 million was invested in properties and vehicles. At its height, daily sales ranged between $600,000 and $800,000 across 300,000 listings for illicit goods, offered by over 40,000 vendors and viewed by some 200,000 users. Alexadre’s activity with AlphBay led to a police operation shutdown called “Bayonet”, which involved authorities in six countries including the FBI, the Dutch National Police, and the Royal Thai Police. AlphaBay’s Simple Mistakes From a Brilliant Mind. Alexandre Cazes made mistakes and one was with his personal email. Once new users joined the forums and entered their private email accounts, they were greeted with an email directly from AlphaBay welcoming them to the forums. The email address “Pimp_Alex_91@hotmail.com” was included in the header information of the AlphaBay welcome email. Searches for that email led investigators to forum posts by accounts with the same online handle Cazes used on AlphaBay, Alpha02. They eventually tracked down Cazes’ full name and LinkedIn account, which listed him as affiliated with EBX Technology, a company that investigators suspected was a front for AlphaBay. Alexandre Cazes had registered a PayPal account tied to bank accounts held in his name as well as the EBX Technologies business name using the "Pimp_Alex_91@hotmail.com" email account. Also, in 2008 a post to a French-language online tech forum "www.commentcamarche.com" by user "Alpha02" included the name "Alexandre Cazes" and the Hotmail address. The administrator of AlphaBay, notably, had used the username "Alpha02" before changing it to "Admin." To Encrypt or Not to Encrypt…That Is the Question. When the police, aided by the FBI and DEA, raided Alexandre Cazes's home, they said he was using a PC that was logged into AlphaBay as "Admin." The laptop was also found opened and unencrypted - revealing that Alexandre Cazes had been communicating with an AlphaBay data center, revealing the day-to-day operations as well as with AlphaBay users, and numerous passwords to AlphaBay servers and other infrastructure. A Tragic End And a Snake in the Grass. Alexandre Cazes was being held in a cell at Bangkok's Narcotics Suppression Bureau and, just hours before he was due to meet prosecutors for talks over his extradition to the US, was found dead of an apparent suicide. Alexandre Cazes did not run AlphaBay singlehandedly. He worked closely with a “security administrator” and second in command known as , or simply “DS” for short. DeSnake Sometime after the takedown of Alpah Bay and the death of Alexandre Cazes, posted on a popular dark web forum to announce the relaunch of AlphaBay and a dedication to Alexandre Cazes aka “alpha02.” DeSnake

Riches to Wretchedness: The Fall of Alexandre Cazes and the Resurrection of AlphaBay

As an AI expert, let me be blunt - cyber threats are a massive, unrelenting risk that no business with an online presence can afford to ignore these days. Whether you're running an e-commerce site, logistics operation, or tech firm, phishing, ransomware attacks, or data breaches - these scourges can cripple a company, leading to devastating financial losses, irreparable brand damage, and even regulatory penalties that could bury you. I've personally seen the aftermath of cyber strikes on SMBs with limited security resources and tight budgets. In those cases, traditional cybersecurity just doesn't cut it against today's attack of threats. But that's exactly where artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a total game-changer. discovered that organizations leveraging AI and automation extensively saved a mind-blowing $1.76 million on average compared to their less AI-savvy counterparts. IBM's 2023 Cost of Data Breach Report And I can testify that AI-powered cyber defense solutions truly earn those savings. By unleashing cutting-edge AI techniques like machine learning, deep learning models, and natural language processing, modern AI cybersecurity acts like an indispensable digital force multiplier reinforcing our defenses against even the wiliest adversaries. As an AI expert, I've deployed these capabilities for clients - it's like having an entire squad of cybersecurity sentries patrolling the digital premises 24/7 to keep the bad actors at bay. Moving forward, I don't believe adopting advanced AI will be a luxury for organizations - it's a flat-out necessity we can't ignore. Whether you're a small business or a giant enterprise, you'd better get proactive and start leveraging AI's offensive cybersecurity potential to safeguard your vital digital assets and ensure continuous operations. In my opinion, AI is quickly separating the cybersecurity haves from the have-nots. AI's Cyber Offense: How It Turbocharges Threat Detection I can't overstate how AI is revolutionizing cybersecurity by unleashing cutting-edge threat detection and response capabilities never before possible. Just look at the rapidly growing market - projects that AI in the cybersecurity sector will explode from $22.4 billion in 2023 to $60.6 billion by 2028. And there are good reasons behind that meteoric growth. MarketsandMarkets Machine learning algorithms excel at quickly identifying patterns and anomalies within massive datasets - making them invaluable assets for recognizing potential cyber threats amid tons of network traffic, user activity logs, and other data. By training these algorithms on historical data, we can have them recognize known attack signatures and deviations signaling new threats before they can wreak havoc. One study I find particularly compelling is from MDPI, showing machine learning models achieved up to 99% malware detection accuracy using techniques like Decision Trees, Convolutional Neural Networks, and Support Vector Machines. That's the level of precision AI can deliver against emerging threats. There are deep learning models that I've deployed to rapidly analyze and classify malware samples with incredible accuracy. The latest deep-learning architectures can see patterns invisible to the naked eye. However, some of the most exciting AI cybersecurity applications my team has tested involve reinforcement learning for adaptive threat response. These self-learning systems can dynamically adjust defensive actions on the fly based on their experiences against evolving attack vectors. Allied Market Research predicts reinforcement learning will see explosive 41.5% annual growth from 2023 to 2032, with cybersecurity as a prime use case. Let's not overlook natural language processing (NLP) for automating incident analysis. I've personally overseen NLP deployments that can rapidly comprehend human language data from reports, intelligence feeds, and more - streamlining our incident response workflows and prioritizing genuine threats over false positives. Combining all these AI disciplines is delivering incredible offensive capabilities to counter even the trickiest cyber adversaries. As an expert and founder in this space, I truly believe AI's ability to autonomously detect and shut down threats before impact will utterly transform cybersecurity over the coming years. Why UEBA and User Behavior Monitoring Matter (And How AI Excels) The cyber risk from malicious insiders or compromised user accounts is one we can't overlook either. That's why I consider user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA) powered by advanced AI/ML models to be paramount for comprehensive, 360-degree security visibility. At a basic level, these AI-driven UEBA solutions leverage machine learning to establish baselines modeling each user's normal behavior based on their activity patterns. Once those baselines are established, the AI can continuously monitor for deviations that may indicate insider threats, privilege abuse, compromised accounts, and other insider risk vectors. What makes this application of AI so powerful is its ability to dynamically score the risk level of unusual user actions based on contextual factors like their role, access privileges, the sensitivity of data/systems involved, and more. This enables real-time flagging of potentially malicious insider activity for further investigation - something that was highly prone to human error with traditional, rigid rule-based approaches. Another area where I've seen UEBA with AI shine is detecting compromised privileged user accounts, which are prime targets for external threat actors seeking a foothold. By understanding the unique behavior patterns of different privileged user roles, AI can rapidly identify the subtle anomalies of a privileged account under hostile control - giving our teams a chance to shut down that breach before catastrophic damage occurs. In my opinion, deploying AI for insider and privileged user threat detection by understanding human behavior is an absolute game-changer. Monitoring our people and accounts is just as vital as external threat monitoring - without it, we're leaving a gaping hole in our defenses that skilled adversaries will inevitably find and exploit. Of course, my teams always emphasize that AI-powered UEBA is just one layer in a comprehensive, defense-in-depth strategy. But it's a crucial layer that lets us get in front of insider incidents before they escalate - buying time that can mean the difference between a contained issue and a full-blown crisis. The Flip Side: Defending Against AI-Powered Threats As amazing as AI's cybersecurity offensive capabilities are, I have to address the flip side too: hackers are actively working on ways to weaponize AI against us. Adversarial attacks designed to bypass, poison, or steal our AI models are a clear and present danger we can't ignore. One disturbing forecast from research analysts indicates: Up to 30% of AI cyberattacks will leverage training data poisoning, model stealing, or adversarial examples to attack AI-powered systems. But we're not defenseless - there are proven ways to harden AI systems against these tactics if we invest in robust AI security controls from the start. Approaches like adversarial training, where models are intentionally exposed to deceptive inputs during the learning process, can improve resilience against evasion. Differential privacy techniques can also obscure model behavior to thwart extraction attacks. We follow best practices around secure AI development Life Cycle, subjecting our models to rigorous adversarial testing and employing defensive AI techniques to stay ahead of emerging threats. I don't mean to sound alarmist, but the cybersecurity industry at large needs to prioritize battling AI-powered threats just as much as leveraging AI for defense. It's a two-way street - we must secure the AI models underpinning our cyber defenses with the same vigor we apply AI offensively. Neglecting AI security WILL be exploited by sophisticated hackers. So while I'm incredibly confident about AI's potential to revolutionize cyber threat detection and response, I'm also pragmatic. We simply can't ignore the dark side and must proactively invest in developing and deploying AI securely to maintain a decisive strategic advantage. Integrating AI Across Security Operations Of course, AI alone is not a silver bullet for cybersecurity. Its true power comes from thoughtful integration across existing processes, teams, and technology stacks. As an enthusiastic AI Expert, I emphasize this force-multiplier effect to clients constantly. AI should augment and empower human expertise, not replace it entirely. That's why the most successful deployments I've seen use AI to offload tedious, repetitive tasks to machines - freeing up skilled personnel to focus on higher-level analysis, investigation, and decision-making that requires human judgment. That's also why AI is rapidly becoming essential for SOC analysts and incident response teams: by automating alert triage, log analysis and basic response workflows, AI drastically reduces burnout from low-value "grunt work" while improving overall efficiency. Research from Capgemini revealed organizations using AI for security operations saw a 12% increase in breach detection rates and an impressive 19% reduction in time-to-respond. Those are major gains I've validated through my own startup's AI deployments. AI and machine learning are also driving huge advances in security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) tools that streamline entire incident response processes. With SOAR, AI handles tasks like correlating disparate security signals, surfacing relevant threat intelligence, and even executing semi-automated response playbooks. It's a huge step towards smarter, more autonomous incident handling. Ultimately though, AI is a complement to skilled human teams, not a wholesale replacement. Cybersecurity operations will always require human expertise, analysis, and judgment. But by intelligently augmenting our people with AI automation and assistance, we can concentrate their talents on higher-impact duties while optimizing productivity and efficiency. I already see this human-machine symbiosis enhancing the industry's ability to outpace threats. As AI integration continues maturing, I'm confident embracing this collaborative model is the only way we'll realistically close the cybersecurity skills gap plaguing our field. AI's Cybersecurity Superpowers By rapidly analyzing network data, user activities, system logs, and more, AI can identify malicious behavior patterns and potential threats with superhuman speed - giving us an early warning to shut down attacks before escalation. Threat Detection & Prevention: While phishing lures and malware grow more devious, AI algorithms can precisely distinguish malicious files and emails from legitimate ones by evaluating content, sender metadata, behavioral signals, and other artifacts that often evade human analysis. Phishing and Malware Detection: Rather than rigid rules, AI lets us dynamically model normal user activity baselines. It can then rapidly detect anomalies indicative of insider threats, compromised accounts, data exfiltration attempts, and more - all in real-time. User Behavior Analytics: I've deployed AI to prioritize vulnerabilities based on their risk and exploit potential, automating the triaging process. AI can also correlate vulnerabilities with active threats, showing us which exposures need patching first. Automated Vulnerability Management: Modern AI-powered SIEM solutions can correlate security events across networks, endpoints, and other sources to rapidly identify genuine incidents amidst the noise. AI also streamlines response workflows based on alert contexts. Smart SIEM & Incident Response: Across incident triage, alert analysis, threat hunting, and more, AI is automating repetitive, labor-intensive security tasks - amplifying the impact of human personnel while reducing burnout and fatigue. Security Ops Automation: I could go on, but you get the idea. As an AI expert and entrepreneur, I've seen these capabilities utterly transform cybersecurity operations into an amazingly proactive, autonomous counter-threat force. And AI's offensive cyber capabilities are still rapidly evolving. The Way Forward: Practical AI Cyber Defense But when I gaze into the future of AI-powered cybersecurity, I see incredible potential beyond just better threat detection and response. Used wisely, I believe AI can fundamentally reshape and elevate our entire profession into a truly proactive, predictive security posture - finally outpacing even the wiliest cyber adversaries. However, realizing this AI-driven future won't happen automatically. It requires us as an industry to thoughtfully and securely integrate AI across our people, processes, and technology stacks with a keen focus on augmenting human expertise and capabilities rather than wholesale automation. At an operational level, this will mean embracing increasingly autonomous security workflows offloaded to AI systems - handling tedious triaging and basic response while escalating only the most critical issues to skilled analysts for analysis and key decisions. It's a pragmatic balance of human and machine capabilities. We'll also need a new class of cybersecurity professionals fluent in interpreting AI system outputs and translating them into strategic guidance. These AI-savvy analysts must be adept at not just using but explaining and justifying AI system behaviors and decisions to leadership stakeholders. It plays a crucial role in building organizational trust and accountability around AI systems. Additionally, organizations must adopt secure AI system development lifecycles, proactively battling adversarial AI threats through approaches like robust model training, adversarial testing, privacy-preserving analytics, and defensive AI architectures. We simply can't leave our AI systems vulnerable to adversarial subversion. Thankfully, I see positive momentum towards these goals across the AI security startup ecosystem and cybersecurity community. But we must keep pressing forward holistically - investing in skilling our people, refining our processes, and pioneering new AI-centric technologies securely and ethically. Only then can we responsibly wield AI's incredible cyber defense potential without enabling worse nightmares. Despite all the work ahead, I'm hugely optimistic as an AI expert and founder. I've already deployed these transformative AI capabilities in the field, experiencing their game-changing impact firsthand. AI gives us a truly decisive advantage in combating even the most sophisticated threat actors - if we successfully fuse machine intelligence and human expertise. It won't be easy, but I'm convinced the payoff will be a safer, more secure digital world actively hardening itself against cyber threats in real-time. A world where novel attacks are neutralized before impact, where vulnerabilities are patched before exploitation, and where malicious insiders and compromised accounts are stopped in their tracks. Best of all, AI cyber defense done right should free up our human personnel for higher-impact strategic work, not tedious data grunt work. AI should empower us to be the cybersecurity experts, creative problem-solvers, and strategic leaders we always aspired to be - not menial attack analysts. So to my fellow AI professionals, founders, and innovators - the path ahead is clear. Let's blaze this trail TOGETHER, pioneering the new era of practical, intelligent, and ethical AI-powered cyber defense. The future of digital safety depends on us doing this right. And with our unique combination of human ingenuity and machine intelligence, I'm confident we're up to the immense challenge. Let's get to work.

Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity: Boosting Threat Defense System

Social media has become the cornerstone of many businesses' marketing strategies. But with it come a number of risks, which anyone running social campaigns needs to understand before they end up in too deep. cybersecurity Social media has changed the dynamic for business owners. From small businesses to large corporations, social media platforms allow companies to engage directly with their customers, foster brand awareness, and turn followers into loyal consumers. It really has leveled the playing field, and now even a solopreneur can build a strong brand with a bit of time and know-how on social media. But, as with any digital frontier, security threats are a challenge, and social media sites offer their own set of challenges. To this end, understanding the social media threats is essential. Not only to maintain the integrity of your brand or company's online presence but also to protect sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. We're going to look at some of the common social media cyber security threats, how they can affect your business, and what to do if you've been impacted by any of them. What are the three main cybersecurity risks with social media? With social media accounts, there are three main forms of cyber threats that can occur. While these fall under one main heading, they can result in additional problems and challenges if not fixed in time. 1. Social Engineering Attacks Social engineering is a manipulative tactic that’s designed to exploit human psychology to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. This can include logging into systems, online accounts, banking details, or accessing data. Cybercriminals often target employees or account owners, tricking them into divulging confidential information or granting access to restricted resources. This can especially be the case for businesses that mix social media for personal and professional purposes or for social media accounts that are managed externally or by a large team. Common social engineering attacks include: Posing as a trustworthy entity to solicit sensitive data via email or messaging apps. Enticing victims with offers of free goods or services, tricking them into clicking malicious links or opening malware-infected files. Impersonating someone else to gain the victim's trust, collecting personal and financial information through a series of seemingly innocent interactions. Phishing: Baiting: Pretexting: A clever example of pretexting and social engineering is when hackers pay attention to a specific company and track when a CEO is out of town or away on vacation. They might spot this when they post on social media or even pay attention to company announcements when someone senior is visiting a trade show or conference. The hacker then approaches someone within the company using an email that looks similar to the genuine address and demands payment is sent urgently to a new bank account. Of course, this is a scam - but if done correctly by the hacker, this can be hugely damaging. Some businesses lose hundreds of millions thanks to these scams, which are also referred to as . spear phishing 2. Data Leaks and Privacy Breaches With millions of active users on social media platforms, the risk of inadvertently leaking sensitive company information or customer data is significant. Insider threats, such as disgruntled or careless employees, are also a significant concern that can quickly snowball and cause damage beyond the initial data breach. It just takes a single lapse in concentration for someone to accidentally share crucial information - and yes, this does happen a lot. Privacy breaches can lead to reputational damage, legal repercussions, and financial loss. And yes, this does affect thousands of businesses a year, some of which end up losing huge amounts of money. In fact, in November 2023 alone, there were , resulting in more than 419 million records being accessed. In total, 2023 saw more than 6 billion records accessed via scammers. Shocking, right? 470 known data breaches 3. Account Hijacking Cybercriminals can gain unauthorized access to company social media accounts, either through stolen login credentials or by exploiting security vulnerabilities in the platform. A hijacked account can be used to spread misinformation, damage the company's reputation, or conduct illicit activities in the company's name. A knock-on of account hijacking can be that your account gets shadowbanned or even blocked and removed in the worst-case scenario. Read more about hacking and social engineering. How does social engineering happen on social media? Social engineering is usually a mid to long-term strategy that is used for gaining access to confidential data or private information. It leverages some interesting aspects of human psychology to gain trust or exploit : Cybercriminals conduct research on their target, collecting personal and professional details from the target's social media profiles, online presence, and public records. Gathering Information: Attackers might create fake social media profiles, posing as acquaintances, businesses, or authority figures. They interact with the target to build rapport and develop a trusting relationship. Establishing Trust: Once trust is established, cybercriminals manipulate the target into divulging sensitive information, performing compromising actions, or providing access to restricted resources. Exploiting Trust: With the necessary information in hand, the attackers breach the target's security measures, either for financial gain or other malicious purposes. Executing the Attack: How does phishing happen on social media? Phishing scams often form part of a bigger cyber security threat and usually also result in additional problems such as hacking, data breaches, and more. On social media, a phishing attack will usually follow a similar pattern. The attacker: The scammer establishes a convincing social media profile, often impersonating reputable companies or individuals. Creates a fake profile: Targets are contacted through friend requests, direct messages, or even public comments on their posts. Connects with potential victims: The attacker messages the target with a convincing narrative (e.g., account suspension, password reset, or prize notification). The message will urge the victim to follow a malicious link or provide sensitive information. Sends deceptive messages: If the victim falls for the phishing attack, they may inadvertently disclose login credentials, financial details, or other sensitive data, leaving them vulnerable to identity theft, fraud, and other illegal activities. What is shadowbanning? If you’ve invested in your Instagram or TikTok, shadowbanning is probably the most damaging result of a that you could experience, aside from your account being closed down. social media hack Shadowbanning refers to the practice of limiting a user's visibility on a platform without their knowledge. Almost like being silenced or muted, a shadowbanned account might experience a significant decrease in engagement, as their content will not appear in searches, newsfeeds, or hashtag lists. While shadowbanning might not fall under the banner of a cyber threat for most, it can result from excessive bot activity on an account or the result of an account being compromised. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook apply shadowbanning algorithms to ensure that content aligns with their community guidelines. Saying that it’s a bit tricky as the main platforms don’t readily admit the existence of shadowbanning, even though it’s definitely a thing. And so, the opaque nature of social media algorithms poses a challenge for businesses operating on social media. But being shadowbanned can actually be a symptom of a bigger problem that might be a result of either your own activity or a hack… How do accounts get shadowbanned? Accounts may get shadowbanned due to various reasons, including: Violating platform-specific community guidelines Engaging in spam or posting excessive amounts of content Using banned or flagged hashtags Exhibiting automated or bot-like activity Receiving a substantial number of user complaints or reports While keeping your social media apps clean and safe might sound simple, hackers can gain access to your social media channels and use them for a variety of malicious purposes. These might be spamming people with messages, being used to follow other (a popular way to artificially inflate followers and engagement), and even other activities such as the aforementioned social engineering or phishing. spam accounts Of course, this can result in your account being shadowbanned without you even doing anything wrong. If you do suspect that you have been impacted by shadowbanning, you can check using the Spikerz to check your Instagram or TikTok accounts. shadow ban calculator How can you protect your business from social media cyber fraud? Taking social media cyber security seriously isn’t a luxury we can afford to take these days. Especially if you handle other people's data or process payments on your website or social media pages. So, when it comes to mitigating social media cyber fraud and protecting your company's digital assets, these are the best practices: Raise awareness of cybersecurity risks and provide training on identifying and handling social engineering attempts, phishing schemes, and malicious content. Educate Employees: Encourage the use of unique and complex passwords for social media accounts and use multi-factor authentication where available. Implement Strong Password Practices: Restrict social media account access to only the necessary personnel and regularly review permissions. Implement processes for revoking access upon employee termination. Monitor and Limit Access: Keep company computers and devices up-to-date with the latest security patches, antivirus software, and firewall protection. Secure Company Devices: Create comprehensive guidelines outlining acceptable practices for employees using company social media accounts and debating online conduct, content sharing, and privacy settings. Establish Social Media Usage Policies: Authenticate the legitimacy of new followers and friend requests, and carefully review message content before engaging with unknown senders. Be Vigilant in Connections: Actively watch your company's social media presence, account activity, and engagement metrics. Be aware of any suspicious changes that may indicate compromised accounts or shadowbanning. Regularly Monitor Your Online Presence: Summing up Social media cyber security doesn’t just affect your Instagram or TikTok accounts… It has a bigger and broader impact that can snowball and affect your business in more ways than you might first think. From data loss or account hacking to the loss of your hard work building up social media accounts - being aware of the threats is the first step in preventing falling victim to cyber crimes.

How to Avoid the Cyber Security Risks that Affect Social Media

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