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Journalism of Courage
Bing Chat, the popular ChatGPT-like AI-powered chatbot is being infested with ads that distribute malware and promote fake download websites.
According to a report by the known cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes, Bing Chat ads, which are often shown as promoted results when users over a link during conversations are used by threat actors to spread malware.
The security firm notes that these malware-infested ads mimic the popular utility – Advanced IP Scanner. Researchers say when users ask Bing Chat how they can download the software, it displays links in the chat, with sponsored links on the top.
Clicking on the sponsored link takes users to a website that then differentiates between bots and crawlers from humans by analyzing information such as timezone and IP address. Real humans are then redirected to a fake website called ‘advenced-ip-scanner[.]com’ where they are asked to download an installer infected with malware.
While Malwarebytes researchers were unable to determine what malware was being distributed, it was revealed that the campaign was created by compromising the ad account of a legitimate Australian business to create two malicious ad campaigns, one for the system admins (Advanced IP scanner) and another one for lawyers (MyCase law manager).
Introduced earlier this year, Bing Chat offers an interactive search experience compared to traditional search engines like Google Search. The GPT-4 powered AI chatbot is the latest example of how cyber threats are evolving rapidly and how users should never click on search results blindly.
