ChatGPT is one of the most powerful AI tools on the market, and one reason is that it can generate code. While that could be a good thing for some, it’s a massive problem for others. According to a new report, countless cybercriminals are using ChatGPT to develop malware to attack MacOS computers.
This report comes from Moonlock Lab, and it details something that we could see coming from a mile away. It was only a matter of time before people started using ChatGPT’s coding capabilities for malicious acts. The thing is that designing malware typically requires years of knowledge and practice. That’s how it goes for any type of programming. There was a pretty high barrier to entry, but ChatGPT basically drove a truck through it.
Now, cybercriminals are using ChatGPT to make malware
Moonlock Lab keeps an eye on MacOS threats, and it posts an annual report about them. In its 2024 report, the team of researchers revealed how much AI tools like ChatGPT are helping bad actors generate malware for Mac computers.
It shouldn’t surprise folks that we’re seeing people create malware using ChatGPT. The chatbot can’t really create an entire program, but one bad actor boasted about how they were able to generate a bit of malware using just a few prompts. The actor, who goes by the name “barboris” posted on the darknet how they were able to do it, and that only makes the situation worse.
The time and effort it takes to learn coding are what discouraged numerous people from actually making malware. Now, pretty much anyone can generate code with the use of AI tools.
There’s also MaaS
For people who don’t even want to develop their malware using AI, there’s MaaS (Malware as a Service). Basically, this is where a person with no technical know-how pays someone else to use their malware. This is something that’s been going on for years, but Moonlock noticed a bit of a shift. The price of licensing malware has dropped pretty rapidly. According to the report, buying a malware would typically cost tens of thousands of dollars. However, they discovered some services as cheap as $1,500/month.
Moonlock speculates that this is because of increased competition. Now that it’s so easy for people to create malware, we can imagine that the market is becoming saturated with newcomers offering their services at lower prices. So, veterans need to lower their prices to stay competitive.
While the aforementioned report focused on MacOS-based malware, the threat as a whole applies to all forms of technology. The issue is that people can now use ChatGPT and other tools to easily generate their own malware, and it’s only going to get worse.
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Source: ndroidheadlines.com