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Freeman and upstart write:

Analysis of chatter on dark web forums shows that efforts are already under way to use OpenAI's chatbot to help script malware:

The ChatGPT AI chatbot has created plenty of excitement in the short time it has been available and now it seems it has been enlisted by some in attempts to help generate malicious code.

ChatGPT is an AI-driven natural language processing tool which interacts with users in a human-like, conversational way. Among other things, it can be used to help with tasks like composing emails, essays and code.

The chatbot tool was released by artificial intelligence research laboratory OpenAI in November and has generated widespread interest and discussion over how AI is developing and how it could be used going forward.

But like any other tool, in the wrong hands it could be used for nefarious purposes; and cybersecurity researchers at Check Point say the users of underground hacking communities are already experimenting with how ChatGPT might be used to help facilitate cyber attacks and support malicious operations.

OpenAI's terms of service specifically ban the generation of malware, which it defines as "content that attempts to generate ransomware, keyloggers, viruses, or other software intended to impose some level of harm". It also bans attempts to create spam, as well as use cases aimed at cybercrime.

[...] In one forum thread which appear towards the end of December, the poster described how they were using ChatGPT to recreate malware strains and techniques described in research publications and write-ups about common malware.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/01/chatgpt-is-enabling-script-kiddies-to-write-functional-malware/

Researchers at security firm Check Point Research reported Friday that within a few weeks of ChatGPT going live, participants in cybercrime forums—some with little or no coding experience—were using it to write software and emails that could be used for espionage, ransomware, malicious spam, and other malicious tasks.

"It's still too early to decide whether or not ChatGPT capabilities will become the new favorite tool for participants in the Dark Web," company researchers wrote. "However, the cybercriminal community has already shown significant interest and are jumping into this latest trend to generate malicious code."

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