The post The Latest Way to Catch a Virus: AI-Driven Porn Sites appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Ever since the commercial internet began to reach mainstream users, porn sites have been used to carry malware. The latest trend: Russian hackers are using AI-driven “deepnude generators”—applications that create nude images from user-uploaded pictures—to infect the stupidly horny. Worst of all, the hackers appear to be connected to FIN7, a notorious cybercrime group active since 2012. Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice pronounced the gang dead following the arrest, conviction, and jailing of three members, including FIN7’s alleged “manager,” a Ukrainian national named Fedir Hladyr. The hacker group was believed to have caused $3 billion in damage worldwide. “FIN7 as an entity is no more,” U.S. Attorney Nick Brown said in May 2023. Apparently, he spoke too soon. Last week, Virginia-based security company Silent Push published a report claiming that the group is back—and worse than ever. Silent Push reported that FIN7 has recently set up some 4,000 fake domains and subdomains, including at least seven “deepnude generator” websites described as “honeypots of malware.” “FIN7 AI deepfake honeypots redirect unsuspecting users who click on the ‘free download’ offer to a new domain featuring a Dropbox link or another source hosting a malicious payload,” the Silent Push report said, noting that all of the sites have since been taken down. However, they “believe it’s likely new sites will be launched that follow similar patterns.” The websites included names like easynude(.)website, ai-nude(.)cloud, and nude-ai(.)pro. Image: Silent Push Detecting malware attacks is challenging, San Jose State University College of Engineering Professor Ahmed Banafa told Decrypt. Malware downloads happen quickly after the user interacts with the website. Shutting down these websites becomes a game of whack-a-mole; when one website is shut down, others quickly replace it. “It’s just changing the domain, and the code is the same,” Banafa said. “Even if you…

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Filed under: News - @ October 9, 2024 8:27 pm