Technology has always had two sides and continues to be. While productive artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT enable us to make our daily life easier, a newly emerged tool called WormGPT exists to complicate our daily lives. It seems that generative AI language models are now being used to create more sophisticated phishing emails to spread malware and increase cybercrime.Artificial intelligence in the hands of hackers
A new report by the company SlashNext, which ironically uses artificial intelligence to stop attacks in the cybersecurity space, outlines how a new tool called WormGPT, based on the GPT-J language model released in 2021, is being used to remediate and refine cyberattacks. The report also states that it is increasingly being used to create fake emails that are specifically personalized.According to the quote, WormGPT is fully trained for the needs of those who want to develop or spread malware. Moreover, this “service” is available for an affordable monthly subscription: 60 euros per month or 550 euros per year. On the other hand, as you can see from the screenshots of the tool, WormGPT essentially works like an unprotected version of ChatGPT. WormGPT is apparently capable of generating malware written in Python and offers strategies and solutions for malware distribution issues.
It was only a matter of time
In addition, SlashNext’s analysis of the tool is simply unsettling. In an example scenario, WormGPT is asked to generate an email requesting payment of a fake invoice. WormGPT has produced an email that is not only remarkably persuasive but also strategically cunning, demonstrating its clearly powerful potential for sophisticated phishing and BEC [Business Email Compromise] attacks. It was only a matter of time before someone started taking open source AI models and using them purely for malicious purposes. Finally, WormGPT may be the first of its kind, but it certainly won’t be the last.
