Iran Deploys ChatGPT in Growing Cyber Offensive Against UAE, Says Official
The UAE faces an upwards of 500,000 cyberattacks daily amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict.
News
- AI Companies Gear To Tackle Extremism With An Intervention Tool
- Iran Deploys ChatGPT in Growing Cyber Offensive Against UAE, Says Official
- IPO Move by SpaceX Sets Stage for Musk to Become World’s 1st Trillionaire
- Iran Attacks Amazon’s Cloud Business in Bahrain, Report Claims
- OpenAI Raises $122B in Funding Round, Valuation Hits $852B
- IRGC Threatens 18 US Firms as Middle East Conflict Deepens
Image Credit- Diksha Mishra/ MIT Sloan Management Review Middle East
A top UAE official has revealed that state-sponsored hackers linked to Iran have been leveraging artificial intelligence tools, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to strategize and launch highly sophisticated cyberattacks against the country.
For Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government, the nature of such threats has evolved from traditional espionage to AI-driven sabotage.
“The use of artificial intelligence in cyber warfare was previously non-existent, but today it is widespread,” Al Kuwaiti shared on a podcast hosted by Sharjah Broadcasting Authority. “Hackers are using AI, including ChatGPT and WormGPT, to program viruses, write malicious code, and find vulnerabilities in our infrastructure.”
The UAE faces an upwards of 500,000 cyberattacks daily amid the ongoing US and Israel- Iran conflict.
With hackers now leveraging advanced AI systems to write malicious code, identify system vulnerabilities, and craft highly convincing phishing emails designed to deploy ransomware and destructive “wiper” malware, authorities have warned of AI integration into the arsenals of state-sponsored actors and how this marks a dangerous new frontier in regional cybersecurity.
Among all, the private sector remains a vulnerable target.
“Imagine a wiper virus infiltrating the unified national registry or hospital databases,” Al Kuwaiti warned. “It doesn’t just steal data; it erases it completely. We have seen instances where private institutions were targeted by such complex, AI-driven wiper attacks that managed to reach even their backup servers.”
Once a clear giveaway due to poor grammar, phishing emails are now flawlessly being written with AI.
Calling the sources of such attacks an intricate network of over 40 proxy organizations and sympathizers—instead of a direct state action—he explained that the majority of this illicit activity is carried out on the dark web.
“The dark web is one of the most important platforms used by the Iranian side today,” Al Kuwaiti noted.
Apart from causing infrastructure collapse, such attacks are developed with a deep ideological component aimed at the UAE’s youth. Al Kuwaiti highlighted “cyber terrorism”, which is occurring within popular online multiplayer games like Roblox, sharing how one instance saw extremists create a virtual replica of the Holy Kaaba in Mecca and simulate its destruction by Western forces.
“They are spreading messages telling children that they alone can change the world, encouraging them to carry out ‘lone wolf’ attacks,” Al Kuwaiti cautioned. “This is ideological warfare. They are trying to instil a deviant ideology in our youth, which is why raising awareness and reinforcing our national values is our first line of defence.”
Despite the rising instances, the UAE continues to be a leading force in digital security. It is ranked number one globally in cybersecurity by the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), while its Cybersecurity Council issues over 200 daily threat intelligence bulletins to government and private-sector partners to help keep them safe or recover from such attacks.
