Technology
AI use rising in influence campaigns online
Google-owned US cybersecurity firm Mandiant said on Thursday it had seen increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct manipulative information campaigns online in recent years, though the technology's use in other digital intrusions had been limited so far.
Researchers at the Virginia-based company found "numerous instances" since 2019 in which AI-generated content, such as fabricated profile pictures, had been used in politically-motivated online iNFLuence campaigns.
These included campaigns from groups aligned with the governments of Russia, China, Iran, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Cuba, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, and El Salvador, the report said.
It comes amid a recent boom in generative AI models such as ChatGPT, which make it far easier to create convincing fake videos, images, text, and computer code. Security officials have warned of such models being used by cybercriminals.
Generative AI would enable groups with limited resources to produce higher quality content for iNFLuence campaigns at scale, Mandiant researchers said.
A pro-China information campaign named Dragonbridge, for instance, had expanded "exponentially" across 30 social platforms and 10 different languages since it first began by targetting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in 2019, said Sandra Joyce, vice president at Mandiant Intelligence.
Yet, the impact of such campaigns was limited. "From an effectiveness standpoint, not a lot of wins there," she said. "They really haven't changed the course of the threat landscape just yet."
China has denied US accusations of involvement in such influence campaigns in the past.
Mandiant, which helps public and private organisations respond to digital breaches, said it hadn't yet seen AI play a key role in threats from Russia, Iran, China, or North Korea. AI use for digital intrusions is expected to remain low in the near term, the researchers said.
"Thus far, we haven't seen a single incident response where AI played a role," said Joyce. "They haven't really been brought into any kind of practical usage that outweighs what could be done with normal tooling that we've seen."
But she added: "We can be very confident that this is going to be a problem that gets bigger over time."
-
Technology6h ago
The Gap Between Open and Closed AI Models Might Be Shrinking. Here’s Why That Matters
-
Technology6h ago
Denver Broncos on verge of giving fans faster internet as it installs Wi-Fi 6E at stadium
-
Technology14h ago
SUPARCO's rover to explore lunar surface | The Express Tribune
-
Technology1d ago
Xpeng Aeroht secures 2008 pre-orders for modular flying car at Airshow China | The Express Tribune
-
Technology1d ago
Asking ChatGPT vs Googling: Can AI chatbots boost human creativity?
-
Technology1d ago
Understanding Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG): The Future of AI-Powered Information Retrieval and Response Generation
-
Technology2d ago
Pakistani PhD student wins ‘Commonwealth Chemistry Award’ for research in health, wellbeing | The Express Tribune
-
Technology2d ago
Canva down: Users report major disruptions in editing, downloading images | The Express Tribune