AI-DRIVEN SOCIAL ENGINEERING IN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTS: A REVIEW OF CURRENT RESEARCH

Vasile-Daniel Pavaloaia () and Valerica Greavu-Serban ()
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Vasile-Daniel Pavaloaia: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi
Valerica Greavu-Serban: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi

EUFIRE Conference Proceedings Series, 2025, vol. 1, issue 1, 250-261

Abstract: Social Engineering (SE) continues to be a major threat in many sectors as well as Business, by manipulating human behaviour to breach organizational defences. With the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques and principles, these attacks have become more targeted, scalable, and difficult to detect especially for the business domain. This manuscript builds a literature review which highlights the major findings from representative peer-reviewed articles published within 2020 and 2025, retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases. The research examines how AI technologies, including Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Deepfake technology, are being leveraged to enhance phishing, impersonation, and behavioural profiling techniques. Preliminary findings indicate a significant rise in the use of AI-driven tools for spear-phishing and executive impersonation within corporate contexts, where the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are mostly affected. Additionally, the study highlights a growing gap between the sophistication of attacks and current defensive measures. These insights underscore the need for adaptive, AI-aware security frameworks tailored to evolving SE threats.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; social engineering; business cybersecurity; phishing attacks; deepfake technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G19 H75 M15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cxa:eu2025:v:1:y:2025:i:1:p:250-261

DOI: 10.47743/eufire-2025-1-20

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