AI Social Engineering has Arrived: Here’s How Our 24/7 IT Support Is Prepared

AI-generated voices and synthetic videos aren’t future threats, they’re active tools criminals use to impersonate executives, vendors, and trusted partners. AI social engineering/spoofing is here, and it’s here to stay.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a UK energy firm lost $243,000 to a cloned voice impersonating their CEO, and CNN reports a 2024 deepfake video conference in Hong Kong led to a $25.6 million transfer. The FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report shows cyber-enabled crime resulted in $16.6 billion in losses in 2024, a 33% increase from 2023.

Organizations must treat identity-based attacks as top operational risks requiring 24/7 IT support and continuous monitoring.

What the threat looks like

Attackers deploy three primary tactics:

Voice cloning uses AI to mimic executives requesting urgent wire transfers. According to the American Bar Association, these attacks resulted in over $200 million in losses during Q1 2025 alone.

Deep-fake video meetings present fake videos of multiple executives simultaneously, and the Hong Kong case showed how convincing these can be.

Automated spear-phishing leverages AI to craft highly personalized messages that bypass traditional security awareness. The FBI warns cybercriminals now use sophisticated AI tools that adapt to each target’s communication style.

1) Social engineering awareness training

LeadingIT runs recurring, role-based training for every client user group. Building social engineering awareness across your organization creates the first line of defense.

Training includes recognition of AI-style anomalies, verification discipline (multi-channel confirmation for sensitive requests), stress drills with simulated impersonation scenarios, and phishing tests with AI-style messages for AI spoofing prevention.

CBS News reports cybersecurity experts recommend out-of-band safe words for sensitive requests—we apply this principle at work.

Training cadence: quarterly refreshers, biannual tabletop exercises, and immediate post-incident reviews.

2) Procedural controls

Technology alone won’t stop determined attackers. Essential controls include:

Multi-channel verification for fund transfers, credential changes, or vendor approvals; authenticated approval chains requiring two verified approvers for high-risk actions; pre-shared authentication tokens for sensitive workflows; and change-control gates requiring ticketed approvals with time-delayed enactment.

These controls align with ENISA’s multilayer framework for AI cybersecurity.

3) 24/7 network IT security monitoring

LeadingIT combines human training with around-the-clock monitoring to spot anomalies early. Unlike many IT security companies offering only business-hours support, our 24/7 IT support ensures threats are detected at any hour.

Our monitoring includes identity telemetry tracking suspicious sign-ins, voice/video provenance checks examining metadata inconsistencies, SIEM correlation triggering automated playbooks, and automated runbooks executing containment steps.

Network IT security monitoring analyzes traffic patterns continuously to identify AI-driven social engineering attempts in progress.

4) Rapid incident response

If impersonation is suspected, our team executes immediate protocols: contain the action, apply multi-channel validation, preserve all media and logs, notify legal/compliance, and run a post-mortem.

When it comes to AI impersonation, immediate response often determines whether an attack succeeds or fails.

What Chicagoland businesses can do today

Protect your organization by:

• Requiring two independent verification channels for payments and privileged access

• Using pre-shared verification tokens for high-risk approvals

• Treating any unusual request as unverified until confirmed

• Ensuring backups and immutable copies exist

• Partnering with IT security companies providing 24/7 monitoring

LeadingIT Protects your Chicago Business

AI impersonation is real and evolving. LeadingIT treats identity-based social engineering as a continuous program: trained people, enforced procedures, and layered detection through 24/7 IT support.

Our approach combines social engineering awareness training with network IT security monitoring for comprehensive protection.

Contact our Chicagoland IT support team today to discuss strengthening your AI spoofing prevention strategy.