Updated on 2023-01-09: ChatGPT is Being Used to Create Malware
In November 2022, OpenAI released an interface for its large language module known as ChatGPT. In a recent blog post, researchers at Check Point write that people on cybercrime forums have begun using ChatGPT to help them develop malware.
Note
- As with many tools, ChatGPT is neither good nor evil. In fact, OpenAI has terms of service which prohibit the use of its technology for illegal or harmful activities. The issue is that while it was expected that ChatGPT could be leveraged to develop malware, it was not expected how rapidly that would happen. The new malware is more convincing/realistic, making it harder to detect. Now we need our defenders (technology and human) to up their game a bit more rapidly than we would have otherwise expected.
- We are not ready as a society for the implications of this technology. The current version of ChatGPT is one that currently provides specific answers to questions based on predictive M/L. It’s gotten to the point where we can use it somewhat to solve software challenges. What’s really going to be interesting is that this isn’t the final version this is only the first version we have publicly seen. It’s currently learning from our prompts. Maybe the silver lining is that defenders can use it to you also come up with solutions based on ChatGPT.
- While this is interesting research, it highlights only one small part in the whole infrastructure that criminals need to manage and operate in order to support malware campaigns. Whether the malware is written by humans or an AI there is still a lot of work required by criminals to distribute and support that malware which hopefully also gives time for security researchers to identify counter measures against that malware.
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Overview: ChatGPT threats emerge as cybercriminals build malware
ChatGPT, the AI natural text generator, can do a lot of things. Write cover letters, songs, high school papers, and more. But just like any new technology, the good is mixed with the bad. Cybercriminals are also using ChatGPT to create highly targeted and convincing phishing emails, where language barriers may have outed previous efforts. Read more:
