Facebook owner Meta said on Wednesday it had uncovered malware purveyors leveraging public interest in ChatGPT. It helps to lure users into downloading malicious apps and browser extensions, likening the phenomenon to cryptocurrency scams.
Since March, Facebook has discovered roughly 10 malware families. And over 1,000 malicious links that falsely advertised as tools utilizing the widely-used chatbot powered by artificial intelligence, according to a report by the company
In some cases, the malware delivered working ChatGPT functionality alongside abusive files, the company said.
Speaking at a press briefing on the report, Meta Chief Information Security Officer Guy Rosen said that for bad actors, “ChatGPT is the new crypto.”
Rosen and other Meta executives said the company was preparing its defences for a variety of potential abuses linked to generative AI technologies like ChatGPT, which can quickly create human-like writing, music and art.
Lawmakers have flagged the tools as likely to make online disinformation campaigns easier to propagate.
When asked about the use of generative AI in information operations. The executives responded that it is still in its early stages. However, Rosen anticipates that “bad actors” will try to accelerate and increase the scale of their activities using these technologies.