News

Hackers Are Using ChatGPT As A Learning Tool For Malware

Hackers and cybercriminals are experimenting with the popular AI chat tool to lend a helping hand in their criminal activities.

Published

4 years ago

January 17, 2023

Nour Nasir

hackers are using chatgpt as a learning tool for malware

OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool has become something of a viral sensation over recent months, with the ability to mimic human responses and even write entire essays for students.

However, ChatGPT’s powers — like many emerging technologies — can be put to work for more nefarious activities, and we’re now beginning to see hackers jump on the AI bandwagon to help them steal personal information more effectively.

Check Point Research, a leading cyber threat intelligence agency, has discovered that Russian fraudsters are experimenting with OpenAI’s ChatGPT for malicious purposes. Hackers have been seen on underground forums discussing how to get around IP address restrictions, credit cards, and phone numbers in order to use the AI tool.

“Right now, Russian hackers are actively discussing and researching how to bypass the geofencing to utilize ChatGPT for their harmful intentions. We think these hackers are most likely attempting to incorporate and test ChatGPT into their daily illegal activities,” says Check Point’s Threat Intelligence Group Manager, Sergey Shykevich.

Unfortunately, ChatGPT is such a potent and flexible tool that it can significantly reduce hacking expenses, as well as writing convincing human conversations and false information. More worryingly, the AI can even suggest usable programming scripts, enabling scammers with zero coding experience to create harmful malware.

Also Read: Starlink Teams Up With Elcome To Offer Maritime Internet

Cybercrime experts haven’t yet decided whether or not ChatGPT will become a new favorite tool for dark web criminals, but it’s clear that the technology is gaining momentum. Across the MENA region, there have been multiple instances of scammers using WhatsApp and other messengers to steal user’s money, but ChatGPT could help criminals go one stage further by creating convincing conversations complete with accurate grammar.

As more free-to-use AI tools appear on the internet, hackers will find increasing opportunities to create sophisticated and legitimate-appearing phishing campaigns, making it more important than ever for the public to carefully audit their online security.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.