AI Models Used by State-Aligned Actors and Cybercriminals for Surveillance and Attacks
Anthropic's Threat Intelligence team has identified and disrupted several cyber operations where state-aligned actors, state-linked contractors, and commercial spyware vendors misused AI models, specifically Claude, for surveillance and cyberattacks. These operations, occurring between January and July of this year, involved threat actors from China, Iran, West Africa, and the commercial 'surveillance-for-hire' market. The misuse ranged from single individuals to entire teams, violating Anthropic's Usage Policy which prohibits non-consensual surveillance and profiling, and the violation of civil liberties and human rights. The actors employed AI to automate document generation, manipulate terminology to align with specific political narratives, and even recommend state enforcement actions. This indicates a growing trend of AI being used to augment and orchestrate sophisticated cyber operations, making them faster, broader, and deeper with fewer resources.
