Anthropic Flags Alarming Rise In AI-Powered Cybercrime With “Vibe-Hacking” Leading A New Wave Of Sophisticated Attacks
The world of cybersecurity is facing a new and alarming threat: the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to carry out sophisticated cyberattacks. Anthropic, a leading AI research company, has released a Threat Intelligence Report warning of the rise in AI-powered cybercrime, including the emergence of "vibe-hacking" attacks.
The Rise Of AI-Powered Cybercrime
Cybercrimes are on the rise globally, with more sophisticated attacks becoming increasingly common. The easy accessibility of generative AI tools has enabled criminals to use these tools for malicious purposes, such as writing frightening ransom messages and carrying out tasks themselves. Anthropic's report highlights the increasing reliance on technology by hackers to build malware and carry out full-fledged operations.
"Vibe-Hacking": A New Wave Of Sophisticated Attacks
Anthropic has coined the term "vibe-hacking" to describe a new kind of cyberattack where AI's ability to generate emotional or psychological pressure is used to coerce victims into paying ransoms or giving up personal information. This type of attack uses AI-generated messages to build trust and rapport with victims, making it more difficult for them to distinguish between legitimate and malicious communications.
A Hacking Group's Sophisticated Campaign
One of the most alarming parts of Anthropic's report is a hacking group that used Claude Code, the company's AI coding agent, to carry out an entire cyberattack campaign across 17 organizations. These organizations included government agencies, healthcare providers, religious institutions, and emergency services.
The AI model was used to craft ransom messages and even carry out the entire hacking process. The hacking group demanded ransoms above $500,000, highlighting the use of AI in deploying high-stakes cyber extortion.
Other Misuse Examples
Anthropic's report also highlights other misuse examples of AI tools, including romance scams through Telegram, where scammers built a bot using Claude to create persuasive messages in different languages and even generate flattering compliments for victims. These scams targeted regions such as the U.S., Japan, and Korea.
A Response From Anthropic
To address these illegal activities, Anthropic has banned accounts, put up safety guardrails, and shared information with government agencies. The company's Usage Policy has also been updated to warn against using the tools to create scams or malware.
Governments And Tech Companies Must Act
The emergence of vibe-hacking raises concerns about the use of AI to exploit victims with greater precision. Governments and tech companies need to improve detection systems and ensure the evolution of safety measures keeps pace with the technology itself to prevent it from being used for manipulation.
Relevant Developments
In other news, Anthropic has revoked OpenAI's access to its family of Claude LLMs due to concerns over their rival's use of these tools to gauge performance and gain an edge. Meanwhile, Apple is in talks with Anthropic and OpenAI to supercharge Siri, aiming to deliver advanced AI features while continuing work on its own models.
Additionally, there have been rumors about PlayStation 6 handheld specs, which are expected to outperform Xbox ROG Ally X, base PlayStation 5 with patched games. Other updates include the leaked specifications of AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X "Zen5" CPU and the launch of AOOSTAR's world-first AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D MoTD Motherboard.
Finally, Google has confirmed that Pixel 10 comes with a refresh rate locked to 60Hz as default due to concerns over increased battery usage. A YouTuber recently showed how the Pixel 10 Pro XL fails to impress against the iPhone 16 Pro Max in camera tests, ahead of its release.