According to information disclosed by Microsoft, the Chinese government-linked hacker group “Storm―0940” used AI to conduct automated attacks targeting hundreds of organizations worldwide. A case was confirmed in which less than 3 hours elapsed from target selection to obtaining access credentials.
Microsoft disclosed that the Chinese government-linked hacker group “Storm―0940” had exploited AI to conduct large-scale cyberattacks. The targets included hundreds of organizations worldwide, and a case was confirmed in which the attacks were automated and obtained access credentials in a short period of time.
The penetration-testing tool “ARTEX” used in the attacks is said to be capable of searching for vulnerabilities and exfiltrating data without human intervention. Storm―0940 may have begun using the tool as early as around September.
Microsoft warned that there are cases showing a sharp expansion in the speed and scale of attacks using AI. According to reports, the targets spanned a wide range of industries, including aviation, defense, automotive, chemicals, government agencies and media.
Analysis also indicated that Storm―0940 was involved in an attack related to ConnectWise's cloud backup product. Other reports described cases in which attacks seeking to steal passwords were attempted at high speed.