How AI Platforms Like ChatGPT will Heighten Imposter Attacks—and How to Fight Them

How AI Platforms Like ChatGPT will Heighten Imposter Attacks—and How to Fight Them

Everyone in recent months has been busy either debating the merits of ChatGPT and similar natural language generators—or have been busy using them. The amount of material these AI-driven platforms will produce is mind-boggling, since there seems to be no shortage of businesses and content writers who feel they can benefit from the striking shortcuts these platforms provide. ChatGPT was in fact able to reach 100 million users in its first two months of public existence.

However, legitimate businesses aren’t the only ones who can benefit tremendously from these AI-powered capabilities to generate meaningful passages. Many pundits warn that this ability to create article-length narratives in mere seconds will make it frighteningly simple for criminals to create more persuasive phishing and imposter attacks, and at a far greater volume. This onslaught of new threats will hugely accelerate vulnerability, where even the savviest of network users could be tricked into turning over log-in credentials, healthcare information, or financial data.

It’s not surprising that AI would allow the ranks of cyber criminals to grow. Technology has often opened fields of expertise up to amateurs, making it easier for laymen with minimal skills to master tasks that formerly required much more training and effort. Consider that automated software allows anyone with a CAD program to draft impressive 3-dimensional designs, and WordPress and Wix allow users with even the most basic of abilities to create professional websites. We can view ChatGPT in the same light, as a tool for hackers. It not only allows anyone with an Internet connection to compose believable and supposedly informed text, but it also empowers hackers who start out with even the most rudimentary of skills to swiftly generate scripts and launch language for imposter cyber-attacks.

These imposter events come in various forms. In the corporate community, Business Email Compromise (BEC) occurs when nefarious actors breach the account of a high-level executive, often a CEO. The hacker will send emails from the CEO’s account directing other senior executives to do things like make large wire transfers or reveal sensitive log-in information. These “socially engineered” BEC attacks have increased by 65% since 2019, according to reports from software research site Gitnux, and are expected to spike dramatically along with the new sophistication of language generators.

Brand imposter attacks are when hackers create a credible mock-up of a site that the victim frequents, such as a financial institution, cloud provider, transport company, or healthcare organization. The criminals will send well-composed and convincing emails requesting that the victim click a link to their site due to some matter that needs attention. The user is then brought to the clever look-alike site, and prompted to enter their user names, passwords, banking details, address, or identifying healthcare information.

Here are some ways that ill-intentioned hackers can now produce code more quickly, launch attacks more precisely, and compose phishing content more eloquently than ever:

ChatGPT allows overseas hackers to write grammatically correct, accurately composed language. In the earlier days of phishing, hackers in unregulated foreign countries were often foiled by spelling mistakes, awkward phrasing, and unprofessional grammar that tipped-off readers. Natural language generators will produce well-composed email copy that is completely indistinguishable from ordinary native speech, since the text is not composed by an outsider. It’s composed by an AI algorithm, pulling from existing native sources.

ChatGPT makes it easier for cyber criminals to write effective malware. Not only do AI-based language generators instantly create prose, they can also quickly write code, aiding programmers in developing applications. Researchers have already reported evidence on the dark web of malicious actors abusing ChatGPT to speed the creation of new malware or fine-tune existing malicious programs. As usual, cyber criminals are intelligent and resourceful—they have already found ways to circumvent ChatGPT’s inherent safeguards.

How to Protect Against Heightened Attacks

All this makes it more critical than ever for businesses to use AI-driven email protection. The only way organizations can guard against the power and speed of advanced AI is to leverage the same technologies in their cyber security solutions. The challenge is that even many top-tier software packages don’t utilize best-in-class AI, because they were designed before these sophisticated tools had even been developed.

Many existing security solutions rely on traditional SEG (security email gateway) methods as their legacy technique. This involves the blacklisting of known malicious IP addresses. Yet contextual attacks like the BEC scenarios above simply can’t be detected by these SEG-based solutions. Cyber security solutions must employ powerful AI to interpret the text of ill-intended emails, identifying keywords like “wire transfer” and “credit card” or even recognizing attachments with sensitive images such as healthcare ID cards. Without these intelligent AI-based tools, which include optical character recognition, companies are vulnerable to a ramp-up in breaches now that criminals have access to tools like ChatGPT.

Organizations should consider solutions from new, next generation cybersecurity providers, especially those who specialize in email security, including solutions for anti-malware, anti-virus, and data loss protection. Outbound email protection like best-in-class encryption is also advisable, since hackers can’t exploit emails that they can’t decode. Businesses should also demand email security protection that is easy to use, in order to foster greater adoption across the organization. Technology that doesn’t get used is pointless.

In the end, the only genuine strategy for combatting the increased level of AI-based attacks from these platforms is to use the same AI tools against them. Don’t let your organization be swept up in the watershed of ChatGPT-assisted schemes.

Featured

  • 12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    Understanding crime statistics in your industry and area is crucial for making important decisions about your security budget. With so much information out there, how can you know which statistics to trust? Read Now

  • Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    In alignment with the state of Mississippi’s mission of “Empowering Mississippi citizens to stay connected and engaged with their government,” Salient's CompleteView VMS is being installed throughout more than 150 state boards, commissions and agencies in order to ensure safety for thousands of constituents who access state services daily. Read Now

  • Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    This year’s Live From GSX program was a rousing success! Again, we’d like to thank our partners, and IPVideo, for working with us and letting us broadcast their solutions to the industry. You can follow our Live From GSX 2023 page to keep up with post-show developments and announcements. And if you’re interested in working with us in 2024, please don’t hesitate to ask about our Live From programs for ISC West in March or next year’s GSX. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • People Say the Funniest Things

    People Say the Funniest Things

    By all accounts, GSX version 2023 was completely successful. Apparently, there were plenty of mix-ups with the airlines and getting aircraft from the East Coast into Big D. I am all ears when I am in a gathering of people. You never know when a nugget of information might flip out. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening. 3

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings. 3