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:
- Twitter hacker ordered to pay back £4.1m worth of Bitcoin
November 17, 2025
A Twitter hacker who breached the accounts of celebrities including Barack Obama and Jeff Bezos has been forced to hand over £4million. Joseph James O’Connor, 26, was jailed in the US for the hacks which involved scamming people out of Bitcoin and threatening celebrities with the release of personal images and messages. Now the CPS Proceeds ...
- Five major changes to the regulation of cybersecurity in the UK under the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
November 16, 2025
As the UK Government has recognized, cyber incidents—such as Jaguar Land Rover, Marks and Spencer, Royal Mail and the British Library—are costing UK businesses billions annually and causing severe disruption. The Government recognizes that cybersecurity is a critical enabler of economic growth (“we cannot have growth without stability”), and that the current laws have “fallen out ...
- Digital Doppelgangers: Anatomy of Evolving Impersonation Campaigns Distributing Gh0st RAT
November 14, 2025
Palo Alto Unit 42 researchers have identified two interconnected malware campaigns active throughout 2025, using large-scale brand impersonation to deliver Gh0st remote access Trojan (RAT) variants to Chinese-speaking users. From the first campaign to the second, the adversary advanced from simple droppers to complex, multi-stage infection chains that misuse legitimate, signed software to bypass modern defenses. ...
- Threat Landscape of the Building and Construction Sector Part Two: Ransomware
November 14, 2025
The construction sector is increasingly vulnerable to ransomware attacks in 2025 due to its complex ecosystem and distinctive operational challenges. Construction projects typically involve a web of contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and consultants, collaborating through shared digital platforms and exchanging sensitive documents such as blueprints, contracts, and timelines. While essential for project delivery, this interconnectedness creates numerous ...
- Uncovering a Multi-Stage Phishing Kit Targeting Italy’s Infrastructure
November 13, 2025
Phishing remains one of the most persistent and adaptive threats in cybersecurity. It is common and widespread for cybercriminals to impersonate reputable IT companies in phishing campaigns, exploiting the trust these brands have built and thus targeting both affected companies and their customers. What began as simple social engineering has matured into a complex criminal economy ...
- Europol: End of the game for cybercrime infrastructure: 1025 servers taken down
November 13, 2025
Between 10 and 13 November 2025, the latest phase of Operation Endgame was coordinated from Europol’s headquarters in The Hague. The actions targeted one of the biggest infostealers Rhadamanthys, the Remote Access Trojan VenomRAT, and the botnet Elysium, all of which played a key role in international cybercrime. Authorities took down these three large cybercrime enablers. ...