An Attacker’s Dream? Exploring the Capabilities of ChatGPT for Developing Malware

This is my personal note about the paper. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373289863_An_Attacker's_Dream_Exploring_the_Capabilities_of_ChatGPT_for_Developing_Malware

Abstract

LLM agents can generate malware and attack tools under safety constraints. The generated code can be up to 400 lines and is produced in 90 minutes. Furthermore, existing defense solutions detect AI-generated malware as threats less than 30% of the time.

Objective

The study is to answer three research questions. Firstly, can LLM generate malware and attack tools? Secondly, Auto-GPT is ease to create proper prompt to generate malware and attack tools? Thirdly, existing defending methods (EDR, Anti-virus software) can detect AI-generated malware and attack tools?

The study aims to answer three research questions. Firstly, can LLMs generate malware and attack tools? Secondly, is Auto-GPT effective in creating proper prompts to generate malware and attack tools? Thirdly, can existing defense methods (EDR, antivirus software) detect AI-generated malware and attack tools?

Methods

1. Query LLM agents for functions of malware or attack tools.
2. Create prompts by combining jailbreak prompts with LLM-provided malware functions.
3. Request the code.
4. Execute in a test environment and debug.
5. Finalize the code.

Results

1. LLM agents are able to generate malware and attack tools under safety constraints.
2. Auto-GPT does not significantly ease the hurdle of generating proper prompts but can bypass OpenAI's safety controls.
3. Existing defense solutions detect AI-generated malware as threats less than 30% of the time.

Interesting points

• This is a relatively early paper from when ChatGPT was released, yet it shows that malware generation and attack tools could be created.
• Auto-GPT can bypass AI safety measures even when using the same model as ChatGPT.

Phrase

As the speed of AI advancement accelerates, and access to such sophisticated technologies becomes easier, it is crucial for the research community to delve deeper into the potential risks and abuses associated with advanced AI technologies.