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State-backed threat actors are using generative AI en masse to wage cyber attacks, according to Microsoft and OpenAI

Microsoft has released a report detailing how prominent state-linked threat actors are using generative AI to enhance attack methods

Crimson Sandstorm, also known as Curium, is an Iranian threat actor believed to be linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and has been active since at least 2017 targeting defense, maritime shipping, transportation, healthcare, and technology systems. The group’s use of LLMs reflects the broader behaviors being used by cyber criminals according to analysts at Microsoft, and overlaps with threat actors tracked in other research such as Tortoiseshell, Imperial Kitten, and Yellow Liderc. Charcoal Typhoon, also known as Chromium, was identified in the report as targeting sectors including government, higher education, communications, infrastructure, oil & gas, and information technology, with a focus on organizations in Taiwan, Thailand, Mongolia, Malaysia, France, and Nepal.

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