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:
- Ploutus.D Malware Variant Used in U.S.-based ATM Jackpotting Attacks
January 29, 2018
The United States Secret Service issued a warning on Friday to financial institutions citing “credible information” about “planned” attacks against U.S. cash machines using malware that can quickly drain ATM machines dry of cash. The warning came a day after ATM maker Diebold Nixdorf also warned its customers of “potential” ATM Jackpotting attacks moving from Mexico to the U.S. But journalist Brian ...
- Ransomware: Is time running out for the biggest menace on the web?
January 26, 2018
Ransomware attacks like WannaCry and Petya caused major chaos last year, while the likes of Locky and Cerber were less high-profile, but still managed to generate large amounts of income for their criminal creators. 2017 was the year of ransomware, but it could be that the file-encrypting malware has already reached its peak, as an analysis of cybercriminal campaigns appears to show that malicious ...
- Satori Author Linked to New Mirai Variant Masuta
January 23, 2018
Researchers at NewSky Security say the hacker behind a Mirai malware variant called Satori, also known as Mirai Okiru, is the same hacker behind two new Mirai variants called Masuta and PureMasuta. Based on source code for Masuta malware recently found on the dark web, researchers at NewSky Security said they were able to connect the ...
- Nearly Half of the Norway Population Exposed in HealthCare Data Breach
January 21, 2018
Cybercriminals have stolen a massive trove of Norway’s healthcare data in a recent data breach, which likely impacts more than half of the nation’s population. An unknown hacker or group of hackers managed to breach the systems of Health South-East Regional Health Authority (RHF) and reportedly stolen personal info and health records of some 2.9 million ...
- British 15-year-old gained access to intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Iran by pretending to be head of CIA, court hears
January 19, 2018
A 15-year-old gained access to plans for intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Iran by pretending to be the head of the CIA to gain access to his computers, a court has heard. From the bedroom of the Leicestershire home he shared with his mother, Kane Gamble used “social engineering” – where a person builds up a ...
- Dridex banking Trojan compromises FTP sites in new campaign
January 19, 2018
Researchers have discovered the Dridex banking Trojan has once again evolved and is now using compromised FTP websites in phishing campaigns. The Trojan was first spotted back in 2014 after targeting banks in the United Kingdom. Since then, Dridex has become infamous for striking financial institutions across Europe. The malware spreads through phishing campaigns, duping victims into downloading ...