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- ChatGPT is a powerful language generation model
that has the ability to generate natural sounding text.
However, like any technology, it can also be misused
for malicious purposes, such as phishing.
Phishing is a tactic used by cyber criminals
to trick individuals into providing sensitive information,
such as login credentials or financial information
through the use of fake websites or messages.
ChatGPT could potentially be used to generate convincing
and realistic phishing messages or websites.
For example, a cyber criminal could use ChatGPT
to generate an email that appears
to be from a legitimate source,
such as a bank or online store,
and that requests sensitive information from the recipient.
How do you think this video's going so far?
Does it come across as authoritative and well-written?
The script for the first parts of this video
was actually generated by ChatGPT.
Here's the request we made to the chatbot and its response.
This prompt was made in plain English
and answered in plain English.
However, ChatGPT's capabilities extend far beyond
being a talking Wikipedia.
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ChatGPT is a new artificial intelligence system
that has been causing a sensation in the AI
and cybersecurity worlds.
Developed by OpenAI,
and at this stage, only available in the beta form,
it has security professionals conflicted
on the role it will play in the future of cybersecurity.
As the latest and most advanced version
of the generative pre-trained transformer system developed
by OpenAI, ChatGPT is capable
of text answering, content generation, language translation
and text summarization
at a much faster rate than previous versions.
When it comes to cybersecurity,
many in the industry believe broader use
of AI and machine learning are critical
to identifying potential threats more quickly.
However, there are also concerns
that the new technology may be a powerful weapon
in the hands of cyber criminals.
ChatGPT may enable a more sophisticated phishing approach
by malicious actors.
ChatGPT has parameters to include security protocols
to identify inappropriate requests,
such as requests for instruction
on how to build a bomb or write malicious code.
But developers have already succeeded
in bypassing these protocols.
Take the case of phishing.
Generic phishing takes a shotgun approach,
and works at a massive scale,
sometimes sending out millions of lures
in the form of emails, text messages,
and social media postings.
However, these lures take a one-size-fits-all approach,
making them easy to spot.
The result is a very low success rate for the phisher.
In contrast, spearphishing uses social engineering
to create highly targeted and customized lures.
The result is a much higher yield,
but because of the manual work involved
in personalizing the lure,
spearphishing operates at a low scale.
With ChatGPT generating lures,
attackers can have the best of both worlds:
the volume of generating phishing with the customization
and higher yield of spearphishing.
ChatGPT can be used to generate unlimited unique variants
of the same lure message,
and even automate it so that each phishing email is unique.
Research undertaken by WithSecure Labs
in January 2023 demonstrate that the capabilities
of ChatGPT include the ability to generate unique variations
of the same phishing lure with grammatically correct
and human-like written text,
generate entire email chains
between different people to add credibility to a scam,
mimic writing styles, for example.
If the criminal has a sample of real messages
between different individuals in a business,
their prompt to the bot can include an instruction
to generate a new message using the style
of those previous messages.
Generate prompts based on content.
ChatGPT has security protocols
in place to identify inappropriate requests,
such as to write a piece of malicious code.
However, developers found that if a prompt
is detailed enough to explain the steps
of writing the malware, it will answer the prompt,
effectively constructed malware on demand.
OpenAI plans to launch ChatGPT-4,
a much more advanced version
of the ChatGPT technology this year.
ChatGPT has significant implications for a number
of industries, including artificial intelligence,
robotics, and cybersecurity.
The threat will require an appropriate response
from the cybersecurity industry to mitigate the risk posed
by the new technology.
Investors can gain exposure
to the cybersecurity industry
via the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF, ASX code HACK,
which invests in a portfolio
of the leading companies in the global cybersecurity sector.
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