North Korean cyber criminals are turning to artificial intelligence to help Pyongyang steal cutting-edge technologies and secure funds for its illicit nuclear weapons programme.The hackers have long targeted employees of global defence, cyber security and crypto companies, tricking users on LinkedIn and other networking platforms into revealing sensitive information or giving access to computer networks or crypto wallets.
Their most notorious hacking operations include the theft of $951mn from Bangladesh’s central bank, and the WannaCry ransomware attack on the UK’s National Health Service in 2017.
ChatGPT developer OpenAI and its investor Microsoft last week confirmed that hackers working on behalf of North Korea, as well as China, Russia and Iran, are using the company’s AI services “in support of malicious cyber activities”.