Zero-Click GenAI Worm Spreads Malware, Poisoning Models
A worm that uses clever prompt engineering and injection is able to trick generative AI (GenAI) apps like ChatGPT into propagating malware and more.
In a laboratory setting, three Israeli researchers demonstrated how an attacker could design "adversarial self-replicating prompts" that convince a generative model into replicating input as output – if a malicious prompt comes in, the model will turn around and push it back out, allowing it to spread to further AI agents. The prompts can be used for stealing information, spreading spam, poisoning models, and more.
They've named it "Morris II," after the infamous 99-line self-propagating malware which took out a tenth of the entire Internet back in 1988. To demonstrate how self-replicating AI malware could work, the researchers created an email system capable of receiving and sending emails using generative AI.
