ChatGPT and AI the latest carrier for malware: Meta security team

Image credit : Business Insider According to research from Meta's security team, artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT have emerged as the newest means for "bad actors" to spread spam, malware, and phishing scams. Eleven malware families masquerading as ChatGPT and related artificial intelligence capabilities in March, some of which were discovered in various browser extensions, according to a study report released on May 1 by Facebook parent company Meta's security team. The reason these "bad actors"—malware operators, con artists, spammers, and others—have shifted to AI, according to Meta, is because it is the "latest wave" of technology that is catching "people's imagination and excitement."

“Since March alone, our security analysts have found around 10 malware families posing as ChatGPT and similar tools to compromise accounts across the internet.”

The study is being conducted at a time when artificial intelligence is receiving a lot of attention. ChatGPT in particular has drawn a lot of this attention. [caption id="attachment_168073" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Image credit : YouTube (Inventions World)[/caption] “For example, we’ve seen threat actors create malicious browser extensions available in official web stores that claim to offer ChatGPT-related tools,” it added. According to Meta Security, several of these "malicious extensions" carried out ChatGPT-compatible actions simultaneously with the malware. The company's security team then cited the hoopla around digital currency and the scams that have resulted from it in explaining how bad actors frequently relocate to where the most recent fad is:

“This is not unique to the generative AI space. As an industry, we’ve seen this across other topics popular in their time, such as crypto scams fueled by the interest in digital currency.”

They emphasized the importance of being cautious and said, "The generative AI arena is fast expanding, and bad actors know it. In a recent interview with Reuters, Guy Rosen, Meta's chief security officer, went a step further and said that "ChatGPT is the new crypto" for these bad guys. However, it should be noted that Meta is currently working on its own advancements in generative AI. Also read : ChatGPT: Be Cautious of Extensions and Apps, They Could be Malware To advance its augmented and virtual reality technology, Meta AI is currently developing several types of AI.

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— Meta (@Meta) February 21, 2023

Despite having made significant investments in the Metaverse, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg claims that AI is currently Meta's single-largest investment.