Bad actors have been using as a malicious-focused alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.  Credit: Shutterstock / Fit Ztudio

Canada’s top cybersecurity official has claimed hackers are using AI to create efficient phishing emails and malicious software – as experts warn about cybercrime-focused generative AI sites like WormGPT. 

Sami Khoury, head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, told Reuters that he and his agency have seen an increase in AI being used to create phishing emails. 

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Khoury said the emerging tech is being used “in phishing emails, or crafting emails in a more focused way, in malicious code and in misinformation and disinformation.”

The cybersecurity head said that despite there being “a way to go because it takes a lot to write a good exploit”, he’s concerned about how fast AI models are expanding and growing.

Adding: “Who knows what’s coming around the corner.”

The stark warning comes after officials and experts speak out against the dangers of AI being harnessed for wrongdoing. 

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SoSafe, a leading email security solution firm, recently published a survey revealing that “phishing emails written with AI are opened by 78% of people and are not recognised at first glance”.

“Initial studies have shown that AI can already write better phishing emails than humans,” Dr Niklas Hellemann, CEO and Co-Founder of SoSafe told Verdict.

“Our data illustrates the consequences, with 1 in 5 people already falling for AI-created phishing attacks,” he added.

Verdict recently reported on a new generative AI cybercrime that bad actors have been using as a malicious-focused alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. 

According to email security provider SlashNext, the developer of the application has been selling access to it in popular hacker forums. 

“Our team recently gained access to a tool known as ‘WormGPT’ through a prominent online forum that’s often associated with cybercrime,” SlashNext wrote.

“This tool presents itself as a blackhat alternative to GPT models, designed specifically for malicious activities.”