LONDON: British cyber security firm Darktrace on Wednesday warned that artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT may have increased the sophistication of phishing scams.
Content creation bot ChatGPT, Silicon Valley's latest app sensation, was launched by Microsoft-backed start-up OpenAI in November.
"Darktrace does not believe that ChatGPT has yet lowered barriers to entry for threat actors significantly," the firm said in a results statement.
"But it does believe that it may have helped increase the sophistication of phishing emails, enabling adversaries to create more targeted, personalized, and ultimately, successful attacks."
Generative AI, of which ChatGPT is an example, can upon request wade through reams of data to conjure up original content -- an image, a poem, a thousand-word essay -- in seconds.
ChatGPT had "ignited a conversation about the implications of generative AI for cyber security", Darktrace noted Wednesday.
It added however that email attacks on its customers were "steady" despite the release of ChatGPT, with a decline in the number of those containing malicious links.
Yet it warned that the "linguistic complexity" of those emails -- including punctuation, sentence length and text volume -- had increased.
"This indicates that cyber-criminals may be redirecting their focus to crafting more sophisticated social engineering scams that exploit user trust."
Darktrace also revealed Wednesday that its net profit sank 86 percent to $581 million in the first half of its financial year, or six months to December.
Its performance was slammed by surging costs and tax charges.
Darktrace shares rose 1.2 percent to 267.10 pence in London midday deals, but the stock is down 40 percent compared with the same stage last year.
The company, which uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to combat cyber attacks, floated on the London stock market in 2021.
However shares have tumbled over the last year and a half on concerns over the group's accounts, and after US private equity firm Thoma Bravo ended its takeover interest in 2022.
UK cyber security firm warns over ChatGPT
https://arab.news/m8f3v
UK cyber security firm warns over ChatGPT
- Darktrace believes generative AI has provided a tool for creating more sophisticated phishing attacks
WEF report spotlights real-world AI adoption across industries
DUBAI: A new report by the World Economic Forum, released Monday, highlights companies across more than 30 countries and 20 industries that are using artificial intelligence to deliver real-world impact.
Developed in partnership with Accenture, “Proof over Promise: Insights on Real-World AI Adoption from 2025 MINDS Organizations” draws on insights from two cohorts of MINDS (Meaningful, Intelligent, Novel, Deployable Solutions), a WEF initiative focused on AI solutions that have moved beyond pilot phases to deliver measurable performance gains.
As part of its AI Global Alliance, the WEF launched the MINDS program in 2025, announcing its first cohort that year and a second cohort this week. Cohorts are selected through an evaluation process led by the WEF’s Impact Council — an independent group of experts — with applications open to public- and private-sector organizations across industries.
The report found a widening gap between organizations that have successfully scaled AI and those still struggling, while underscoring how this divide can be bridged through real-world case studies.
Based on these case studies and interviews with selected MINDS organizations, the report identified five key insights distinguishing successful AI adopters from others.
It found that leading organizations are moving away from isolated, tactical uses of AI and instead embedding it as a strategic, enterprise-wide capability.
The second insight centers on people, with AI increasingly designed to complement human expertise through closer collaboration, rather than replace it.
The other insights focus on the systems needed to scale AI effectively, including strengthening data foundations and strategic data sources, as well as moving away from fragmented technologies toward unified AI platforms.
Lastly, the report underscores the need for responsible AI, with organizations strengthening governance, safeguards and human oversight as automated decision-making becomes more widespread.
Stephan Mergenthaler, managing director and chief technology officer at the WEF, said: “AI offers extraordinary potential, yet many organizations remain unsure about how to realize it.
“The selected use cases show what is possible when ambition is translated into operational transformation and our new report provides a practical guide to help others follow the path these leaders have set.”
Among the examples cited in the report is a pilot led by the Saudi Ministry of Health in partnership with AmplifAI, which used AI-enabled thermal imaging to support early detection of diabetic foot conditions.
The initiative reduced clinician time by up to 90 percent, cut treatment costs by as much as 80 percent, and delivered a 10 time increase in screening capacity. Following clinical trials, the solution has been approved by regulatory authorities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.
The report also points to work by Fujitsu, which deployed AI across its supply chain to improve inventory management. The rollout helped cut inventory-related costs by $15 million, reduce excess stock by $20 million and halve operational headcount.
In India, Tech Mahindra scaled multilingual large language models capable of handling 3.8 million monthly queries with 92 percent accuracy, enabling more inclusive access to digital services across markets in the Global South.
“Trusted, advanced AI can transform businesses, but it requires organizing data and processes to achieve the best of technology and — this is key — it also requires human ingenuity to maximize returns on AI investments,” said Manish Sharma, chief strategy and services officer at Accenture.
