ChatGPT Can Be Used To Create Chatbots That Impersonate Humans: Norton Report

A latest report by Norton revealed that ChatGPT can be used for more efficient phishing. It also warned that bad actors can use it to create deepfake chatbots which can impersonate humans or legitimate sources, like a bank or government entity, to manipulate victims into turning over their personal information to gain access to sensitive information, steal money or commit fraud.

Cybercriminals are using ChatGPT to generate malicious threats through its impressive ability to generate human-like text that adapts to different languages and audiences. Cybercriminals can now quickly and easily craft email or social media phishing lures that are even more convincing, making it more difficult to tell what’s legitimate and what’s a threat, noted the report. 

In addition to writing lures, ChatGPT can also generate code. Just as ChatGPT makes developers’ lives easier with its ability to write and translate source code, it can also make cybercriminals’ lives easier by making scams faster to create and more difficult to detect.

“I’m excited about large language models like ChatGPT, however, I’m also wary of how cybercriminals can abuse it. We know cybercriminals adapt quickly to the latest technology, and we’re seeing that ChatGPT can be used to quickly and easily create convincing threats,” said Kevin Roundy, Senior Technical Director of Norton. 

Norton suggests avoiding chatbots that don’t appear on a company’s website or app and being cautious of providing any personal information to someone you’re chatting with online.  

“It’s getting harder than ever for people to spot scams on their own, which is why Cyber Safety solutions that look at more aspects of our digital lives – from our mobile devices to our online identity, and the wellbeing of those around us – are needed to keep us safe in our evolving world,” Roundy added.

Norton revealed in its report that it blocked 90.9 million phishing attempts, 260.4 million file threats, 1.6 million mobile threats, in 2022.

The cybersecurity company released some India-based numbers too. From October through December 2022 in India Norton blocked about 96,000 phishing attempts, 1.6 million file threats, 1,13,000 mobile threats and 5,000 technology support attacks.