A recent report from the famous information security company (Norton) stated that cybercriminals are using ChatGPT to generate more realistic and persuasive messages quickly and in different languages.
Since its launch in late November, the chatbot based on generative artificial intelligence technology has attracted millions of users, including: cybercriminals.
Norton said in its report that cybercriminals use ChatGPT to deliver malicious threats through its impressive ability to create human-like scripts that adapt to different languages and audiences.
Cybercriminals can now quickly and easily create more convincing phishing email or social media messages, making it more difficult to tell what is legitimate and what is not.
In the Quarterly Consumer Cyber Safety Pulse Report, Norton said that in addition to writing decoys, which are the baits used to trick victims in phishing scams, GBT Chat can also generate code and tokens.
Just as ChatGPT, developed by the American artificial intelligence technology company OpenAI, makes life easier for developers through its ability to write and compile code, it can also make life easier for cybercriminals by making it faster to create scams. And it is more difficult to detect.
"I'm excited about big language paradigms like chatgpt, but I'm also wary of how much cybercriminals can abuse them," said Kevin Rady, Norton's senior technical director. He added, "We know that cybercriminals are rapidly adapting to the latest technology, and we believe that (ChatGBT) can be used to create compelling threats quickly and easily."
In addition to using ChatGBT for more effective phishing operations, Norton experts believe it can also be used to create fake chatbots.
Norton explained that these fake chatbots can impersonate humans or legitimate sources, such as a bank or government entity, with the aim of manipulating victims into diverting their personal information to gain access to sensitive information, steal money, or commit fraud.
Norton advises Internet users, to maintain their safety, to avoid chatbots that do not appear on the company's website or application, and to be careful not to share any personal information when chatting with someone online.
It also asked users to be careful before clicking on links in response to unsolicited phone calls, emails or messages, as well as to update security solutions.
According to the report, Norton thwarted over the course of 2022 a total of more than 3.5 billion threats, or about 9.6 million threats per day worldwide. Of these cases, there were 90.9 million phishing attempts, 260.4 million threat files, and 1.6 million phishing threats.
Furthermore, Norton AntiTrack has blocked more than 3 billion trackers and electronic fingerprints. The term electronic fingerprinting refers to a type of online tracking that is more invasive than typical cookie-based tracking.
