Warning: AI-powered ransomware is real and in the wild
As if there weren't enough privacy concerns in the world, AI ransomware is now reportedly a thing.
Cybersecurity firm ESET said that it discovered the first-ever AI-powered ransomware, which it has dubbed PromptLock. "The PromptLock malware uses the gpt-oss:20b model from OpenAI locally via the Ollama API to generate malicious Lua scripts on the fly, which it then executes," the company wrote.
The ransomware, according to ESET, runs locally on devices via an API, meaning OpenAI cannot detect and alert that ransomware is operating. The AI-powered ransomware can generate scripts that perform functions on the devices while evading defensive tools because the AI-generated results are different each time.
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"Based on the detected user files, the malware may exfiltrate data, encrypt it, or potentially destroy it," ESET wrote.
So in the vast world of privacy concerns and cybersecurity issues, now you need to be worried about AI-powered ransomware stealing your information. As if the hacks of major insurance providers and court data, or the potential exposure of your social security info wasn't enough, now we have that. As always, be careful out there.
Topics Cybersecurity Privacy
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
