Amazon has warned of a new large-scale threat in which cybercriminals used publicly available generative artificial intelligence tools to massively hack network firewalls in 55 countries. In just five weeks, hackers managed to compromise more than 600 firewalls, using AI to automate password cracking and bypass outdated security systems. According to a Bloomberg report, the attacks targeted facilities with single-factor authentication and weak credentials. This is reported by UNN.
Details
The use of artificial intelligence allowed hackers to significantly speed up the process of reconnaissance and vulnerability detection, which previously required months of manual work. AI tools helped automate the writing of malicious code and adapt it to specific types of protection systems in real time.
Amazon experts note that such operations are often only a preparatory stage for deploying ransomware, as access to administrative panels gives full control over corporate networks.
The use of generative AI to scale attacks demonstrates that cybercrime is moving to a new level. We are seeing hackers compromise hundreds of systems in a matter of weeks, which was previously impossible for such small groups.
The need to strengthen security measures
The incident confirmed the critical vulnerability of systems that still rely on simple user identification methods. Amazon strongly recommends that organizations immediately switch to multi-factor authentication and use machine learning algorithms to protect their networks in order to be able to counter AI attacks.
Experts predict that the number of such automated attacks will only increase, as the tools for carrying them out are becoming increasingly available on dark forums.