Malware Now Uses AI During Execution to Mutate and Collect Data, Google Warns

Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has seen several new and interesting ways in which malware has been leveraging artificial intelligence, going beyond its use for productivity gains.

For some time now cybercriminals and state-sponsored threat actors have been leveraging AI to develop and enhance malware, plan attacks, and create social engineering lures.

The cybersecurity industry has also observed and demonstrated the potential for malware to utilize AI during execution.

For instance, the PromptLock ransomware, which made headlines a few months ago over its use of AI to generate scripts on the fly and perform various actions on compromised systems, is an experimental proof-of-concept developed by researchers.

However, Google researchers have come across several other pieces of malware that use AI during an attack. While some of them have been described as “experimental threats”, such as PromptLock, others have been used in the wild.

Another experimental AI-powered malware seen by ...