While AI has made significant strides in various areas, it is increasingly apparent that technology might be abused in the world of cybercrime. WormGPT has built-in safeguards to prevent its nefarious usage, in contrast to its helpful counterparts like OpenAI's ChatGPT, raising concerns about the potential destruction it could cause in the digital environment.
What is WormGPT
WormGPT, developed by anonymous creators is an AI chatbot, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. However, the one aspect that differentiates it from other chatbots is: that it lacks the protective measures that prevent its exploitation. The conspicuous lack of safeguards has raised concerns among cybersecurity experts and researchers. Due to the diligence of Daniel Kelley, a former hacker and prominent cybersecurity business Slash Next, this malicious AI tool has been brought to the notice of the cybersecurity community. In the murky recesses of cybercrime sites, they found adverts for WormGPT, which revealed a lurking danger.
How Does WormGPT Function?
Apparently, hackers gain access to WormGPT via the dark web, further acquiring access to a web interface where they can enter commands and gain responses almost resembling the human language. This malware focuses mostly on business email compromise assaults and phishing emails, two types of cyberattacks that can have catastrophic results.
WormGPT aids hackers in crafting phishing emails, that could convince victims into taking actions that will compromise their security. The fabrication of persuading emails that appear to be from a company's CEO is a noteworthy example of this. These emails might demand payment from an employee for a fake invoice. WormGPT's sophisticated writing is more convincing and can mimic reliable people in a business email system since it draws from a large database of human-written information.
The Alarming Reach of ChatGPT
One of the major concerns regarding WormGPT among cybersecurity experts is its reach. Since the AI tool is readily available on the dark web, more and more threat actors are utilizing it for conducting malicious activities in cyberspace. Implying the AI tool suggests that far-reaching, large-scale attacks are on their way that could potentially affect more individuals, organizations and even state agencies.
A Wake-up-call for the Tech Industry
The advent of WormGPT acts as a severe wake-up call for the IT sector and the larger cybersecurity community. While there is no denying that AI has advanced significantly, it has also created obstacles that have never before existed. While the designers of sophisticated AI systems like ChatGPT celebrate their achievements and widespread use, they also have a duty to address possible compromises of their innovations. WormGPT's lack of protections highlights how urgent it is to have strong ethical standards and safeguards for AI technology.
