- OpenAI now accounts for 1.1% of all tracked brand impersonations, ranking in the top 10
- Microsoft and LinkedIn together continue to represent 34.2% of all impersonations
- Basic cybersecurity hygiene can prevent many attacks
New research from Check Point has revealed that ChatGPT is increasingly becoming a target of branded phishing attempts, with the company now appearing in the top 10 list alongside heavy hitters like Microsoft, Google and Apple.
Although ChatGPT only accounted for 1.1% of all branded phishing attempts tracked, this is the first time it has appeared in the top 10 and reflects continued growth for attackers.
It sees a similar number of attacks on PayPal (1.3%), WhatsApp (1.4%) and Facebook (1.9%), but is currently far behind Microsoft, which, combined with its subsidiary LinkedIn, accounts for more than a third (34.2%) of all brand impersonations tracked.
ChatGPT is growing as an impersonated brand
An example from the second quarter of this year was fake ChatGPT Plus payment failure emails that copied OpenAI’s branding, but directed victims to a fraudulent payment page to maliciously collect their payment information.
As for Microsoft, the fake support pages warned customers that they needed to update Office for security fixes, but the download actually installed malware on victims’ devices.
The attacks on OpenAI are quite ironic, because it is likely the company’s own AI tools (among many others) that really helped the attackers write many of the attacks at a dizzying pace.
Overall, technology companies were the most attacked, followed by social media platforms in a similar vein, and then banking apps.
Despite fluctuations in terms of which brands are attacked and what campaigns look like, the overall attack vector remains unchanged, with cybercriminals targeting vulnerable users and emphasizing the urgency of tricking people into not sharing information, credentials and payment details.
Security experts warn potential victims to get tired of clicking on unknown URLs and opening unexpected communications, and to protect their accounts with passwords and secure multi-factor authentication (MFA).
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