Elliptic has conducted a study that has determined that the crypto industry is experiencing an increase in the number of crimes that are enabled by AI. They are not necessarily associated with the withdrawal of funds from an account. They even go so far as to lure the community into investing in a specific token. One way to mitigate such risks is by taking timely and measured responses, given that most attacks are still in their early stages. This should not be confused with the fact that malicious actors will ever deploy advanced measures to fool stakeholders.
There is a surge in tokens related to AI, with the top keywords being GPT, Bard, and OpenAI. BNB Smart Chain hosts the majority of such tokens, with the number reaching as high as 4,500. Ethereum and Solana follow, each with over 1,000 such tokens.
In the past, AI-generated deep fake videos have surfaced. For instance, a deep fake video featuring Lee Hsien Loong, the former Prime Minister of Singapore, made headlines, showing him endorsing a crypto scam. Elon Musk, Tsai Ing-wen, and Lai Ching-te have also been victims of such malicious practices in the past.
The impact on the community as a whole is significant, as a statement from prominent individuals can cause a market swing. Therefore, the market becomes more volatile and there’s a greater chance of losing money due to illusory expectations or misinformation.
Malicious actors are also leveraging the technology to create AI tokens with famous keywords. Members of the community become perplexed, compelled to accept its legitimacy. There has been a significant increase in activity, indicating that it is urgent to curtail the unnecessary or malicious creation of AI tokens.
North Korea has been held accountable for a large number of attacks. Elliptic’s report reveals that North Korean attackers have carried out over 60 crypto heists. They were able to drain approximately $3 billion from the system between 2017 and 2023. The report does not share the numbers for 2024 until June. It has been assessed that the group is turning to AI for future attacks.
Targeted stakeholders often include crypto compliance professionals, law enforcement investigators, and AI-plus crypto users and developers.
AI implementation is under the radar of relevant authorities because it interacts with user data. Studies like these only make it imperative to start the monitoring process. The giants like Google, Meta, and Microsoft have their sights set on the rise in the technology sphere and the crypto market. There is a distinction between the two, but they also converge to complement each other in more than a single manner.
Elliptic has recommended adopting DECODE. It is an acronym for detect, educate, cooperate, defend, and enforce. Stakeholders can benefit from this during the time when there is a significant rise in AI-backed crime in the cryptocurrency market.
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