A new generative AI cybercrime tool dubbed WormGPT has been advertised on underground forums as a perfect tool for adversaries to launch sophisticated phishing campaigns and business email compromise (BEC) attacks.
Since chatbots like ChatGPT made the headlines, cybersecurity experts warned of potential abuses of Generative artificial intelligence (AI) that can be exploited by cybercriminals to launch sophisticated attacks.
Generative AI, or generative artificial intelligence, is a type of machine learning that is able to produce text, video, images, and other types of content. It is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on creating new data rather than simply analyzing existing data.
The benefits of using generative AI for BEC attacks are multiple and include the use of impeccable grammar and the lowered entry threshold for the creation of BEC campaigns.
Threat actors can use WormGPT to automate the creation of highly convincing malicious emails crafted for the recipient.
The dangers related to WormGPT has been reported by researchers at SlashNext. According to the researchers, the tool presents itself as a blackhat alternative to GPT models, designed specifically for malicious activities.
WormGPT is an AI module based on the GPTJ language model, which was developed in 2021. It boasts a range of features, including unlimited character support, chat memory retention, and code formatting capabilities. Unlike ChatGPT, this generative AI-based tool allows cyber criminals to do a broad range of illegal activities and doesn’t have any limitations.
The Slashnext experts also highlighted that on underground forums threat actors also offer “jailbreaks” for interfaces like ChatGPT. The “jailbreaks” are specialized prompts designed to manipulate interfaces of popular chatbots bypassing measured implemented to prevent disclosing sensitive information, producing inppropriate content, or even executing harmful code.
According to a recent analysis published by Check Point that compared anti-abuse restrictions implemented by ChatGPT and Google Bard, Bard’s restrictors are significantly lower compared to those of ChatGPT. So the threat actors can easily use Bard to generate malicious content.
According to the report:
Bard’s anti-abuse restrictors in the realm of cybersecurity are significantly lower compared to those of ChatGPT. Consequently, it is much easier to generate malicious content using Bard’s capabilities.
Bard imposes almost no restrictions on the creation of phishing emails, leaving room for potential misuse and exploitation of this technology.
With minimal manipulations, Bard can be utilized to develop malware keyloggers, which poses a security concern.
It is possible to create basic ransomware using Bard’s capabilities.
SlashNext tested the WormGPT tool and revealed that the results were unsettling. It is similar to ChatGPT but has no ethical boundaries or limitations.
Image Credits : ACS information Age
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