Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center is alerting its employees to the rising threat of "vishing," a form of AI-generated voice phishing.
In an Oct. 17 news release, the health system revealed that employees have been targeted by phone scams in which fraudsters impersonate trusted individuals — such as friends, supervisors and co-workers — using deepfake voice phishing and AI-generated voice cloning to sound authentic.
"While traditional phishing typically involves fraudulent emails or text messages, AI-voice scams employ voice technology to mimic real people," the news release said. "Unlike other scams, an AI-voice scam can sound extremely convincing, making it harder to discern the fraudulent nature of the call."
In April, Scott MacLean, CIO of Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health, warned during congressional testimony that hospitals must stay vigilant against vishing attacks.
"Collectively, providers fend off complex attempts at cyber intrusion every day, but it only takes one sophisticated criminal to gain entry," he said. "With the increased use of generative AI, criminals are becoming more brazen in weaponizing this new technology."