Alert issued to millions of Android users over danger ‘AI attack’ you must avoid

CYBER experts have revealed that the internet’s favourite AI bot has started to build hacking tools for criminal gangs.

ChatGPT, which harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI), rose to internet fame in December.

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It is similar to another piece of malware making the rounds among Android phones at the moment[/caption]

But it has already been adopted by cybercriminals to help code malicious malware, according to researchers at Israeli security firm Check Point.

In one hacking forum post reviewed by security experts, a hacker who had previously shared Android malware revealed code written by ChatGPT that can steal files of interest and send them across the web. 

This kind of malicious code can be “easily be modified to encrypt someone’s machine completely without any user interaction”.

In a recent report, experts from Check Point wrote: “This individual seems to be a tech-oriented threat actor and the purpose of his posts is to show less technically capable cybercriminals how to utilise ChatGPT for malicious purposes, with real examples they can immediately use.”

It is similar to another piece of malware making the rounds among Android phones at the moment.

Cybersecurity experts have also warned millions of Android users of a new hacking scheme – which gives scammers full control over people’s phones.

Through this malware, known to experts as Hook, hackers are able to gain complete remote control over an Android device.

This means that fraudsters are able to access photos, messages, apps and notes without Android users knowing anything is awry.

Cybersecurity experts at ThreatFabric raised the alarm on the malicious scheme earlier this month.

“Hook now joins the very dangerous ranks of malware which is able to perform a full attack chain from infection to fraudulent transaction,” researchers wrote in a recent report.

“It includes new capabilities typical of spyware, which allow criminals to track and spy on the device, gaining full visibility not only on the banking details of the victim, but also messaging, geolocation, and control over files present on the phone.”

The mobile banking apps of NatWest, Lloyds Bank, Santander UK and HSBC UK, Australia and Canada have all been targeted, researchers found.

As well as banking apps, which span a number of countries across most continents, the malware has also been targeting crypto wallets.

Researchers have published a list of the apps the malware has been targeting.

Android users must make sure they have the latest software downloaded to ensure they are the most protected.

Each time Android rolls out an update, it patches up vulnerabilities.

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