4 held in China for using ChatGPT to execute ransomware attack
Chinese authorities have arrested four people for developing ransomware with the help of OpenAI’s AI chatbot ChatGPT, the first such case in the country.
ChatGPT is not officially available in the country and Beijing has been cracking down on foreign-based AI tech, reports South China Morning Post.
The attack was reported by an unidentified company in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, which had its systems blocked by ransomware.
The hackers demanded 20,000 Tether, a cryptocurrency stablecoin pegged one-to-one to the US dollar, to restore access, according to Xinhua news agency.
The police arrested two suspects in Beijing and two others in Inner Mongolia, who admitted to “writing versions of ransomware, optimising the program with the help of ChatGPT, conducting vulnerability scans, gaining access through infiltration, implanting ransomware, and carrying out extortion.”
OpenAI has blocked internet protocol addresses in China, Hong Kong and sanctioned markets like North Korea and Iran.
“Some users get around restrictions using virtual private networks (VPNs) and a phone number from a supported region,” according to the report.
In May, police in northwestern Gansu province arrested a man who allegedly used ChatGPT to generate fake news about a train crash and disseminated it online.
In August, Hong Kong police arrested six people who used deepfake technology to create fake images of identification documents used for loan scams targeting banks.
(With inputs from IANS)
Media Release
Udupi, Sep 19: The Department of Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Engineering, Department of Computer Science Engineering, ISTE & IEEE student chapters of SMVITM, in association with the National Information and Cyber Security Council (NICC) organized a two days workshop on “Cyber Security and Ethical Hacking” on September 15 and 16 in the institute premises.
Prameel Arjun, CEO, Prikus Group & Head, Research and Operations, National Information and Cyber Security Council (NICC) was the chief guest. He inaugurated the programme by lighting the lamp. In his Inaugural address to the gathering, he urged that the students must be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and protect against cyber threats, and to explore the ethical dimension of hacking. Also he said that practical skills were needed to secure digital assets and protect against cyber threats effectively.
Dr Thirumaleshwara Bhat, principal, in his presidential address, expressed his gratitude to the team from National Information and Cyber Security Council (NICC) for imparting such workshop for the benefit of students and urged the participants to gain maximum benefits.
Earlier, Nagaraja Rao, in-charge head, Department. of AI & DS and AI & ML Engineering welcomed the gathering and gave insights about the wokshop, importance of conducting such workshops for the benefit of the students.
Hithashree, 2nd year Data Science, invoked the blessings from the Almighty. Chandana of final year CSE, compered the programme. Dr Sowmya J Bhat, head, Department of CSE proposed a vote of thanks.
A total of 240 students participated in the workshop.
