Criminal AI-as-a-Service in 2026: How the Underground Market Is Operationalizing Cybercrime


The underground market for criminally oriented generative AI has moved beyond the early hype surrounding ‘malicious chatbots.’ The gradual integration of AI as a productivity layer within cybercrime operations has become the dominant story, indicating that while the potential for fully autonomous AI hacking systems is possible, attackers are not embracing them as expected. Instead, threat actors are increasingly using AI to accelerate routine, but operationally significant, tasks to scale their operations. Drafting phishing lures, profiling targets, debugging code, generating forged documents, modifying malware, translating victim communications, and processing stolen data at scale were once time-consuming activities that AI has made significantly easier. AI does not replace cybercriminals; it lowers friction, increases speed, and expands the range of actors able to perform tasks that previously required more time, skill, or external support.

Read more…
Source:  Rapid7 News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • UNODC report exposes escalating threat of organized crime in the Pacific

    October 11, 2024

    The Pacific is increasingly becoming an important transshipment hub and an operational and destination point for organized crime syndicates, according to a new report launched today by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Titled Transnational Organized Crime in the Pacific: Expansion, Challenges, and Impact, the report provides a detailed analysis of the rapidly evolving ...

  • Internet Archive data breach exposes more than 31 million user accounts

    October 11, 2024

    The Internet Archive, a popular digital library known for its Wayback Machine, was hacked and suffered a data breach that reportedly exposed 31 million user accounts. Founder Brewster Kahle confirmed in a post on the social media platform X that a cyberattack on Tuesday knocked the website offline. He also said that usernames, emails, and encrypted ...

  • Nokia Report Highlights Surge in Cyber Attacks on Telecom Infrastructure

    October 11, 2024

    The latest findings from Nokia’s Threat Intelligence Report reveal an alarming increase in cybercriminal activity targeting telecom infrastructure, largely fueled by advances in Generative AI and automation. This escalation has significant implications for network security and operational reliability within the telecommunications sector. The report indicates that the frequency of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks has ...

  • Digital arrests – the newest deepfake tool used by cybercriminals

    October 11, 2024

    An Indian textile baron has revealed that he was duped out of 70 million rupees ($833,000) by online scammers impersonating federal investigators and even the Supreme Court chief justice. The fraudsters posing as officers from India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) called SP Oswal, chairman and managing director of the textile manufacturer Vardhman, on August 28 ...

  • Education under siege: How cybercriminals target our schools​​

    October 10, 2024

    Education is essentially an “industry of industries,” with K-12 and higher education enterprises handling data that could include health records, financial data, and other regulated information. At the same time, their facilities can host payment processing systems, networks that are used as internet service providers (ISPs), and other diverse infrastructure. The cyberthreats that Microsoft observes across ...

  • Exploited Vulnerability in Multiple Fortinet Products

    October 10, 2024

    Fortinet has released a security advisory to address a critical vulnerability in the FortiOS fgfmd daemon. CVE-2024-23113 is a ‘use of externally-controlled format string’ vulnerability with a CVSSv3 score of 9.8. A remote unauthenticated attacker could send specially crafted requests to execute arbitrary code (ACE) or commands. Affected organisations are encouraged to review Fortinet PSIRT Advisory ...