As the development of artificial intelligence technology has been advancing rapidly, bad actors such as malware operators, spammers and scammers are taking advantage of the trend and have moved to this field as the latest vector of attack. This is shown in a research report published by Facebook subsidiary Meta's security team on May 1, which uncovered 10 malware families disguised as ChatGPT and other similar AI tools in March.
These malicious actors are primarily targeting ChatGPT as it has become an increasingly popular and exciting tool for people. To deceive unsuspecting users, malicious browser extensions have been released in official web stores that appear to provide users with AI-related technology, but actually have malicious intent. These extensions have been found to have the nefarious operations become integrated with ChatGPT-based functionality with coexisting malware.
Moreover, Meta's security team noted that bad actors are generally motivated to move to where the latest trend is, referencing the surge of fraudulent activities related with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin as an example. In a similar fashion, Meta's Chief Security Officer, Guy Rosen, also stated that “ChatGPT is the new crypto” for these malicious actors.
To protect future users from such malicious activities, the firm is actively developing both augmented and artificial reality technologies to enhance its current AI products. For example, Meta QuestVR has recently adopted touch screen technology on its online platform, allowing users to make use of their fingers instead of controllers to navigate VR as if they were swiping through a phone.
In conclusion, although the development of artificial intelligence has brought considerable benefit to society, rogue elements are still trying to take advantage of the hype and revolutionize their way of causing malicious intent. As such, it is important that users remain vigilant of these malicious activities, and preventive measures need to be taken to ensure that these scammers and malware operators are brought to justice.
Wyatt Alvarez
- 2023-05-04
AI Malware Operators Adopt the Trend of AI Development
As the development of artificial intelligence technology has been advancing rapidly, bad actors such as malware operators and scammers are taking advantage of the trend and have moved to this field as the latest vector of attack. This article provides insight into how these malicious actors are using ChatGPT and other similar AI tools to deceive unsuspecting users and how marketers are taking precautionary measures to protect future users.
