AI-powered worms could become cybersecurity’s next nightmare, experts warn 'In an interconnected world, no system is immune to this threat', cybersecurity experts said With the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, the cybersecurity landscape is facing unprecedented AI-powered cyber threats. Cybersecurity experts have warned about the new class of cyber threat emanating from computer worms that operate in association with AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT. According to researchers, the publicly available chatbots and large language models can be exploited to power worms, making their malicious spread from one device to the next easily. The concept of worms is not new. It is a type of malware that can self-replicate and spread across the computer without requiring human assistance. “The worm parasitically uses compromised machines to run open-access large language models (LLMs) to sustain its reasoning, or extend its reach for further attacks,” researchers warn in a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study posted in arXiv. As per researchers’ observations, these worms exploit real-world corporate network vulnerabilities and infect a network of machines ranging from Linux, Windows and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In this study, researchers assessed the capabilities of an AI-driven worm by simulating it on various interconnected devices such as printers, laptops and cameras. According to Nicolas Papernot, one of the authors of the new study from the University of Toronto, “It was imperative for us to understand this threat in a controlled, academic setting before bad actors figured it out for themselves.” “The reason we are doing this research is to ensure the security of the digital ecosystem we all rely on – to keep people safe. This finding catapults us into a new era of cybersecurity.” Papernot warned that computer worms though malicious but can easily be contained but with the use of artificial intelligence, containment is becoming difficult. The