10 Key Takeaways for Finance Professionals – What’s Happening and our recommendations for you.
AI is reshaping the finance function—but it’s also opening the door to advanced cyber threats. The key learnings from our webinar is extracted into this whitepaper for your ready reference.
1. Sensitive financial data is leaking into AI models
What’s happening:
By 2026, over 60% of finance teams are expected to unintentionally expose confidential data to external AI systems as they embed AI tools into workflows.
Recommendation:
Audit all AI tools currently in use and define strict policies for how financial data can be shared with or processed by AI platforms.
2. Synthetic fraud is being used to create fake companies and identities
What’s happening:
Attackers are blending real and fake data to create AI-generated fake vendors, customers, and even employees—leading to fraudulent transactions and account takeovers.
Recommendation:
Strengthen vendor and customer onboarding with multi-factor verification and third-party data validation tools. Flag anomalies like short business histories or mismatched contact details.
3. AI-powered impersonation is driving advanced BEC and CEO fraud
What’s happening:
AI-generated voice, email, and even video deepfakes are making business email compromise (BEC) harder to detect and more persuasive—especially when targeting finance teams.
Recommendation:
Train finance staff to validate unusual requests via secondary communication channels. Implement mandatory two-person approval on high-value or urgent transactions.
4. Fake CFO job listings are being used to target finance professionals
What’s happening:
Scammers are posting fake job opportunities to lure CFOs and finance professionals into sharing credentials, internal data, or to extract money during staged interviews.
Recommendation:
Alert staff to job-related phishing threats. Avoid uploading resumes with internal company information, and verify all recruiter outreach through known professional channels.
5. QR code phishing is bypassing traditional email filters
What’s happening:
Cybercriminals now use QR codes in emails and invoices to evade detection and lure victims to fake sites that harvest credentials or install malware.
Recommendation:
Prohibit the use of QR codes in finance-related communication unless pre-approved. Deploy tools that detect QR code usage in inbound documents.
6. Traditional controls are failing against AI-enabled attacks
What’s happening:
Rules-based fraud monitoring can’t keep up with AI-generated scams that mimic legitimate behavior and language—especially in payment and invoice processing.
Recommendation:
Adopt AI-driven anomaly detection tools that analyze payment behavior, vendor patterns, and user context in real time.
7. Monthly review of high-risk payments by the CFO adds essential oversight
What’s happening:
Despite automation, the presentation recommends manual CFO oversight of high-risk vendor payments to catch subtle anomalies that software might miss.
Recommendation:
Establish a monthly ritual where the CFO personally reviews the top 5 highest-risk payments (by amount, urgency, or vendor change) and shares insights with the team.
8. AI-generated threats are now leading cyberattack vectors
What’s happening:
AI-enhanced attacks such as deepfake-enabled BEC and intelligent ransomware now appear in the “Leaders” quadrant of the AI/Cyber Threat Matrix—high likelihood, high impact.
Recommendation:
Update your risk register and incident response plans to include deepfake impersonation, synthetic identity fraud, and AI-enhanced phishing as key threat vectors.
9. AI integrations with ERP and finance systems increase exposure
What’s happening:
Connecting AI tools (e.g., copilots or automation bots) to financial systems risks leaking sensitive data—especially when using third-party SaaS or plugins without visibility.
Recommendation:
Limit third-party AI integrations and require security reviews before connecting any AI-driven tools to ERP, treasury, or procurement systems.
10. AI is both a threat and a defense mechanism
What’s happening:
While attackers are using AI, defenders can too. AI can help detect abnormal payment patterns, spot policy violations, and respond faster to fraud signals.
Recommendation:
Invest in AI-enabled defense tools that complement human decision-making—especially for fraud detection, user behavior analytics, and vendor monitoring.
Final Thought
As cybercriminals get smarter with AI, finance professionals must respond with modern tools, smarter policies, and more active oversight. Leadership, training, and continuous monitoring are key to staying secure in this fast-changing landscape.
If you have a cybersecurity / AI requirement, please email us at mkanapathy@mercurycc.com or ravi@wersec.com or text at: 847.778.1868 or 847.505.6016