OpenAI Shuts Down Accounts Used to Generate Phishing Emails & Malware

While Artificial Intelligence holds immense potential for good, its power can also attract those with malicious intent. 

State-affiliated actors, with their advanced resources and expertise, pose a unique threat, leveraging AI for cyberattacks that can disrupt infrastructure, steal data, and even harm individuals.

“We terminated accounts associated with state-affiliated threat actors. Our findings show our models offer only limited, incremental capabilities for malicious cybersecurity tasks.”

OpenAI teamed up with Microsoft Threat Intelligence to disrupt five state-affiliated groups attempting to misuse their AI services for malicious activities.

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State-affiliated groups

Two groups linked to China, known as Charcoal Typhoon and Salmon Typhoon,

The Iranian threat actor “Crimson Sandstorm,” North Korea’s “Emerald Sleet,” and Russia-affiliated group “Forest Blizzard.”

Charcoal Typhoon: Researched companies and cybersecurity tools, likely for phishing campaigns.

Salmon Typhoon: Translated technical papers, gathered intelligence on agencies and threats, and researched hiding malicious processes.

Crimson Sandstorm: Developed scripts for app and web development, crafted potential spear-phishing content, and explored malware detection evasion techniques.

Emerald Sleet: Identified security experts, researched vulnerabilities, assisted with basic scripting, and drafted potential phishing content.

Forest Blizzard: Conducted open-source research on satellite communication and radar technology while also using AI for scripting tasks.

OpenAI’s latest security assessments, conducted with experts, show that while malicious actors attempt to misuse AI like GPT-4, its capabilities for harmful cyberattacks remain relatively basic compared to readily available non-AI tools.

OpenAI strategy

Proactive Defense: actively monitor and disrupt state-backed actors misusing platforms with dedicated teams and technology.

Industry Collaboration: work with partners to share information and develop collective responses against malicious AI use.

Continuously Learning: analyze real-world misuse to improve safety measures and stay ahead of evolving threats.

Public Transparency: share insights about malicious AI activity and actions to promote awareness and preparedness.

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