Dark AI is fueling cybercrime - and accelerating the cybersecurity arms race

"Its creator offered would-be customers access to a large language model (LLM) with no built-in guardrails - one that wouldn't push back when asked to do something nefarious, like craft a scam email, write code for malware, or help with a phishing scheme. He later claimed that more than 200 users paid upwards of €500 (around $540) per month for the tool, with some shelling out as much as €5,000 ($5,400) for a full-featured private installation."

"WormGPT officially shut down just months after its launch, around the same time that security researcher Brian Krebs wrote a lengthy exposé that revealed the identity of its creator, Rafael Morais. Morais, who said that the majority of WormGPT wasn't coded by him specifically, claimed the tool was meant to be neutral and uncensored, not explicitly malicious. He was never charged with a crime, and it's unclear how much damage, if any, WormGPT's users inflicted upon the world."

"In the two-plus years since, unrestricted AI models and AI-powered cybercrime tools - loosely grouped together under the term "dark AI" - have grown in both number and popularity, with creators primarily using the dark web to connect with their target customers: people keen to cause mischief, run scams, or steal information and identities for profit. FraudGPT, which launched just a month after WormGPT, reportedly tallied over 3,000 paying subscribers,"

WormGPT launched in June 2023 targeting hackers and provided an LLM without built-in guardrails, enabling users to request scam emails, malware code, or phishing help. More than 200 users reportedly paid up to €500 monthly, with some purchasing private installations for as much as €5,000. The service shut down months later after security reporting identified creator Rafael Morais, who said the model was neutral and largely not coded by him. Dark AI proliferated afterward, with tools like FraudGPT, DarkGPT, XXXGPT, and Evil-GPT attracting thousands of subscribers and leveraging the dark web to connect malicious users.

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