- OpenAI now accounts for 1.1% of all tracked brand impersonations and ranks in the top 10
- Microsoft and LinkedIn still account for a combined 34.2% of all imitations
- Basic cybersecurity hygiene can prevent many attacks
New research from Check Point has revealed that ChatGPT is increasingly being targeted in brand phishing attempts, with the company now appearing in the top 10 list alongside heavy hitters such as Microsoft, Google and Apple.
Although ChatGPT only accounted for 1.1% of all tracked brand phishing attempts, this is the first time it has appeared in the top-10 and reflects continued growth for attackers.
It sees a similar number of attacks to PayPal (1.3%), WhatsApp (1.4%) and Facebook (1.9%), but is currently far behind Microsoft, which combined with its LinkedIn subsidiary accounts for more than a third (34.2%) of all impersonations tracked.
ChatGPT is growing as an emulated brand
An example from the second quarter of this year saw fake ChatGPT Plus payment failure emails that copied OpenAI’s branding but directed victims to a fraudulent payment page to maliciously collect their payment information.
As for Microsoft, fake support sites warned customers to update Office for security fixes, but the download actually installed malware on victims’ devices.
Attacks on OpenAI are quite ironic because it is probably the company’s own AI tools (among many others) that actually helped attackers write many of the attacks at lightning speed.
Overall, tech companies were the most targeted, followed by social media platforms in the same vein, and then banking apps.
Despite fluctuations in which brands are targeted and what campaigns look like, the general attack vector remains unchanged, with cybercriminals targeting vulnerable users and emphasizing the urgency of tricking people into sharing information, credentials and payment details.
Security experts warn potential victims to be weary of clicking on unfamiliar URLs and opening unexpected communications, and to protect their accounts with passkeys and secure multi-factor authentication (MFA).
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