Since its release in November 2022, the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT has generated widespread attention for its ability to produce conversational responses. While the technology demonstrates AI’s promise, there are many risks to consider.
In a survey by BlackBerry, 74% of IT professionals said they were concerned about the potential cybersecurity threats posed by ChatGPT. This concern is well-founded, as other researchers report hackers have been successfully using ChatGPT in cyberattacks since at least December. Respondents cited their top concerns about how hackers might take advantage of ChatGPT, including using it to craft more believable and legitimate sounding phishing emails (53%), enabling less experienced hackers to improve their technical knowledge and develop more specialized skills (49%), and using it to spread misinformation (49%).
“It has been well documented that people with malicious intent are testing the waters,” said Shishir Singh, chief technology officer for cybersecurity at BlackBerry. “Over the course of this year, we expect to see hackers get a much better handle on how to use ChatGPT successfully for nefarious purposes; whether as a tool to write better mutable malware or as an enabler to bolster their skillset. Both cyber pros and hackers will continue to look into how they can utilize it best. Time will tell who is more effective.”