Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT have become the latest way for “bad actors” to distribute malware, scams and spam, according to research from Meta’s security team.
On May 1, a report Research by the security team at Meta, Facebook’s parent company, discovered 10 malware families posing as ChatGPT and similar AI tools in March, some of which were found in various browser extensions:
“Since March alone, our security analysts have found around 10 families of malware impersonating ChatGPT and similar tools to compromise accounts all over the Internet.”
Meta explained that these “bad actors” – malware operators, scammers, spammers and the like – have turned to AI because it’s the “last wave” of what it’s picking up on. “the imagination and enthusiasm of the people”.
The research comes amid heightened interest in artificial intelligence, with ChatGPT, in particular, hogging much of the attention drawn to AI.
“For example, we have seen threat actors create malicious browser extensions available from official web stores that claim to offer ChatGPT-related tools,” added.
Meta security noted that some of these “malicious extensions” included operations with ChatGPT functionality that coexisted with the malware.
ChatGPT-related Malware on the Rise, Meta Says
https://t.co/eEJRVb9qkI— Slashdot (@slashdot) May 3, 2023
The firm’s security team then explained that bad actors tend to move where the latest fad is, referencing the buzz around digital currency and the scams that have sprung from it:
“This is not unique to the generative AI space. As an industry, we have seen this in other popular topics at the time, such as cryptocurrency scams fueled by interest in digital currency.”
“The generative AI space is rapidly evolving and the bad actors know it,” they added, emphasizing the need to be “vigilant.”
Guy Rosen, director of security at Meta, went a step further in a recent interview with Reuters by stating that “ChatGPT is the new cryptocurrency” for these bad actors.
However, it should be noted that Meta is making its own developments in generative AI.
Meta AI is currently building various forms of AI to help improve its augmented and artificial reality technologies.
— When (@When) February 21, 2023
Despite being heavily invested in the Metaverse, AI is now Meta’s biggest investment, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Cointelegraph has contacted OpenAI, the team behind ChatGPT, for their opinion.
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