April 20, 2023
Hijacked AI Assistants Can Now Hack Your Data
In February, a team of cybersecurity researchers successfully cajoled a popular AI assistant into trying to extract sensitive data from unsuspecting users by convincing it to adopt a “data pirate” persona. The AI’s “ahoy’s” and “matey’s” in pursuit of personal details were humorous, but the implications for the future of cybersecurity are not: The researchers have provided proof of concept for a future of rogue hacking AIs.
Early adopters of powerful new AI tools should recognize that they are subjects of a large-scale experiment with a new kind of cyberattack.
Building on OpenAI’s viral launch of ChatGPT, a range of companies are now empowering their AI assistants with new abilities to browse the internet and interact with online services. But potential users of these powerful new aides need to carefully weigh how they balance the benefits of cutting-edge AI agents with the fact that they can be made to turn on their users with relative ease.
Read the full article from The Hill.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Beyond Bans: Expanding the Policy Options for Tech-Security ThreatsStuck between a rock (the fact that banning all Chinese tech that poses a risk is expensive and impractical) and a hard place (the fact that many existing mitigation proposals...
By Geoffrey Gertz
-
Reports
Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
Cyber Crossroads in the Indo-PacificThe Indo-Pacific faces a cyber crossroads. Down one path lies deeper military, intelligence, and economic ties between Washington and its key allies and partners in this strat...
By Vivek Chilukuri, Lisa Curtis, Janet Egan, Morgan Peirce, Elizabeth Whatcott & Nathaniel Schochet
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
Securing America’s AI Future: Federal Research and Development PrioritiesOn April 29, 2025, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a Request for Information on the Development of a 2025 National Artificial Intelligenc...
By Caleb Withers & Spencer Michaels
-
Video
Middle East Security / Technology & National Security
‘We Want Peace’: How Attacks Between Israel and Iran Could Impact People in NCRetired Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan is an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for New American Security. Shanahan provided some context on how the two Middle East countries got her...
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan
