Microsoft Restricts Hackers Sponsored By The State For Mastering OpenAI Artificial Intelligence

Tom feasibility, Microsoft's Vice President of Customer Security, (photo: x @TomBurt45)

JAKARTA - On Wednesday, February 14, a published report stated that state-backed hackers from Russia, China, and Iran had used tools from Microsoft-backed OpenAI to improve their skills and deceive their targets.

Microsoft announced these findings when implementing a comprehensive ban on state-backed hacker groups to use their artificial intelligence (AI) products.

Tom Total, Microsoft's Vice President of Customer Security, stated in an interview with Reuters before the release of the report that they did not want the actors they identified as threat actors to have access to the technology, regardless of legal violations or service provisions.

A hacker group suspected of working on behalf of Russia's military intelligence agency, GRU, used a large language model to study satellite and radar technology related to conventional military operations in Ukraine.

North Korean hackers are using a model to generate content that is likely to be used in a spear-phishing campaign against regional experts. Iranian hackers are also using the model to write more convincing emails, even trying to attract "leading phenomena" to trapped websites.

Microsoft and OpenAI describe the use of AI tools by hackers as "early stages" and "incremental." They stated that no breakthrough has been seen from hackers.

The ban includes state-backed hacker groups, including those suspected of being affiliated with Russian military intelligence agencies, Iran, and the Chinese and North Korean governments. This raises concerns about the rapid proliferation of AI technology and its potential to be misused. Senior cybersecurity officials in the West have warned since last year that rogue actors used such tools, although the details are still minimal.

Microsoft insists that the ban includes all of their AI products, but does not include their search engine, Bing. This was done because of concerns about the use of this new and powerful AI technology.

In the interview,men also defended a zero-tolerance ban on hacker groups by showing concern about the spread of AI technology. He stated that this technology is new and very powerful.