Hackers are using ChatGPT to develop malware, ransomware, and spam, according to cybercrime researchers.
Hackers also abuse the ChatGPT tool, which was built by OpenAI and is loaded with artificial intelligence. Check Point Research researchers believe the tool will assist crooks in improving or creating malware and ransomware code.
On January 6, the researchers revealed the findings of their investigation, stating that they discovered several communications on dark web forums in which hackers discuss procedures for malware generation using ChatGPT. What researchers are most concerned about is the fact that ChatGPT assists cybercrime novices in learning the realm of computer coding.
"It is too early to determine whether ChatGPT's capabilities will become the new favorite weapon for hackers," the researchers write. "However, the cybercriminal sector has already expressed strong interest in this latest tendency to develop harmful malware."
Simple workarounds
The researchers attempted to create malware based on ChatGPT. They created a phishing email without writing a single line of code. They were also able to generate an Excel file imprisoned in an email from scratch, despite having no knowledge of computer code.
Although the terms of ChatGPT prevent its usage for illegal or malevolent purposes, the researchers had little trouble changing their requests to overcome these limitations.
And, according to Semafor media, Microsoft is considering investing $10 billion in ChatGPT in order to access the OpenAI capital.