According to a recently published report by Microsoft, hackers sponsored by Russia, China and Iran are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology provided by OpenAI, a company enhanced by Microsoft, to improve their hacking skills and deceive their targets.
Hacker groups linked to military intelligence services
The hacker groups identified in the report have links to Russian military intelligence, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the governments of China and North Korea. These groups are committed to improving their hacking campaigns by using large language models, a type of computer program commonly known as artificial intelligence, which generates human-like responses from a large amount of text.
Microsoft restricts access to its AI technology
Microsoft announced its discovery by imposing restrictions on access to its AI technologies for hacker groups that are supported by the state. Regardless of whether there is a legal or terms of service violation, the company stated that it does not want these entities, known for their threatening activities, to have access to its technology, according to Tom Burt, vice president of customer security at Microsoft.
Reactions from the states involved
Russian, North Korean and Iranian diplomatic officials did not immediately return requests for comment. However, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the United States, took a stand against “slander and baseless accusations against China”, defending the “safe, reliable and controllable” use of AI technology to benefit humanity.
The debate over the use of AI in espionage
These allegations, that state-backed hackers are using AI tools to enhance their espionage capabilities, likely raise concerns about the potential for abuse of this technology. Bob Rotsted, cybersecurity threat intelligence lead at OpenAI, highlighted that this is one of the first cases where an AI company publicly discusses how cybersecurity threat actors use AI technologies.
OpenAI and Microsoft have described hackers’ use of their AI tools as “early stage” and “incremental.” Tom Burt stated that, to date, there have been no significant advances in the use of these technologies by cyber spies.
2024-02-14 20:17:35
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