China is using AI to sharpen every link in its attack chain, FBI warns

The biggest threat to US critical infrastructure, according to FBI Deputy Assistant Director Cynthia Kaiser, can be summed up in one word: "China." In an interview with The Register during RSA Conference, she said Chinese government-backed crews are testing out AI in every stage of the attack chain. This isn't to say that they …

[The Man Who Fell To Earth]

Why bother?

The US has gone full sheilds down capitulation to cyberespionage in the last few months.

[Burgha2]

There's other goons

I'm more worried about the US ones these days, with their President threatening daily to invade other countries and trying to interfere in their elections.

(Luckily he's quite bad at it, so far....)

[Anonymous Coward]

When you manage to scare the US Congress

you can easily get your billion USD budget for you to spend it however it pleases you and with no questions asked. It works every time.

[Nasu]

And Don't forget the the CIA does NOT SPY ON CHINA

Because we are the good guys

GOOGLE:

Botched CIA communication system cost the lives of 30 CIA spies in China In 2010 to 2012

[hachiko__]

Incompetence

It seems the pervasive culture in many companies of “ship now, review later” has seeped into CIA bureaucracy. Thus, case officers prioritize obtaining informants rather than maintaining them.

Makes one wonder on the current posture of the NSA and the other intelligence agencies.

[anthonyhegedus]

And so it begins

Using AIs to basically wage war against each other is how countries will operate. All with the capability to affect infrastructure far more effectively than missiles etc. But at some point, the warmongering nations will wonder why it's not killing enough. But don't worry, AI will have a solution to that, I'm sure.

I don't think this is going to end well whatever happens.

[Anonymous Coward]

AI CEO replicants

This use of AI to recreate a video of the boss demanding an urgent wire transfer of money has been used a few times now, surely nobody in any corporation with adequate controls wires money without making adequate secondary checks? If (a) I had financial transfer authority in my current role, and (b) the CEO asked me to transfer money on a Teams call I'd tell them "yes...as soon as I've got the necessary PO on SAP, and a colleague has checked who we're paying and why".

I've worked with a good few CEOs and directors, and they NEVER go round asking for urgent wiring of money to random accounts, so I'm assuming that all the companies who get caught out are tin-pot affairs where minions dare not challenge and where there's no adequate processes. Serve them right.

[claimed]

Re: AI CEO replicants

Your post without the final sentence would have been fine, but now you’re a victim blaming douche. I suppose you think woman walking alone at night deserve to be attacked because they are putting themselves at risk.

Yes, better controls is the protection to CEO impersonation, no, it doesn’t “serve them right” to be conned while trying to do their job, potentially costing them their jobs.

[Mitoo Bobsworth]

Oh Noes

Hegseth will have to switch to Facebook messenger.

[phy445]

Wintermute is coming

As a teenager I loved William Gibson’s Neuromancer for its vision of cyberspace/cyberpunk. However that book’s subplot about computer warfare and ai seems increasingly prescient

[Tron]

The problem is not China.

Aside from other state supported and private hackers, the real threat is the vulnerabilities in your own systems.

Your internal systems and all infrastructure services should never touch the public internet. External systems that do touch the net should be air gapped, data light and easily replaceable. Avoid the cloud, keep your storage local and encrypted and only store the bare minimum of data. Data is a risk not an asset. Archive what you don't need live on physical media in locked rooms.

As for AI, self-respecting hackers will soon wise up and return to running their own scripts.