TOKYO – Around 1,000 servers suspected of serving as bases for advanced artificial intelligence-driven cyberattacks have been online since October, a Japanese-led international investigation showed Nov 14.
The probe by the Japan Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (JPCERT/CC), conducted in cooperation with overseas cybersecurity firms, found that the servers may have used AI to search for vulnerabilities and target websites worldwide.
Hacking, which previously required time even for those with specialised knowledge, has become easier with the emergence of high-level AI.
Servers hosting the tools can be set up in physical facilities or operated through virtual frameworks.
JPCERT/CC, which began its investigation in early October, identified AI tools in the discovered servers. It is tracking 600 to 700 of them.
According to the centre, most of the servers hosted AI-powered platforms such as the penetration-testing tool Artex.
They appeared to be searching for system vulnerabilities and attempting to steal configuration files.
One server contained traces of a programming support tool created by AI from US company Anthropic, suggesting that attackers weaponised AI to enhance their hacking capabilities.
Some publicly accessible servers contained tools for analysing the internal structure of smartphone applications and programmes for testing system vulnerabilities.
Attackers are believed to have analysed apps and attempted unauthorised access through interfaces that exchange information with external systems.
Ken Sajo, an analyst at JPCERT/CC, warned that as AI is still in the early stages of being used for cyberattacks, “more sophisticated attacks will increase in the future”. KYODO NEWS