Russia Using Generative AI to Ramp Up Disinformation, Says Ukraine Minister

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By Hiba Akbar

The Ukraine Minister said that Russia is ramping up disinformation using Gen AI.

Key Takeaways

  • Ukraine targeted Russia for using Gen AI to circulate disinformation.
  • Demokhin said it becomes difficult for the public to distinguish between real and fabricated content.
  • Moscow responds that the West and Ukraine are waging a sophisticated information war against Russia.
  • Demokhin claimed Ukraine tracked all disinformation worldwide using Gen AI.

A senior Ukraine official accused Russia of using generative AI to escalate its disinformation campaigns in the ongoing war on Wednesday to Reuters on the sidelines of a cyber conference, calling it a worldwide threat.

OpenAI’s recently released report also shows concerns over the use of ChatGPT by threat actors to influence elections and now claims that Russia also assures the use of Gen AI to humiliate opposite parties.

In an interview with Reuters, Anton Demokhin, Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister said,

This year, we see the density of cyber attacks (from Russia) continue, but there is more of an accent on disinformation.” 

He further discussed that these AI tools can produce realistic images, videos, and text that mimic genuine news reports or social media posts, making it increasingly difficult for the public to distinguish between real and fabricated content.

In response, Moscow claims that the West and Ukraine are waging a sophisticated information war against Russia.

According to U.S. intelligence officials on Monday, Russia was among a number of countries trying to use artificial intelligence skills to sway American voters ahead of the November presidential election.

Demokhin further said that Ukraine tracked the disinformation campaign worldwide and appealed that states need to unite to combat disinformation.

He added that they also employed generative AI to track misleading information campaigns but didn’t pass a word when asked whether Ukraine was undertaking its own cyber offensive operations.

Amid fear of a Russian attacker, Ukraine also banned the Telegram messenger app on government-issued devices used by military personnel, defense officials, and critical infrastructure employees.

According to Demokhin, new Russian cyberattacks are increasingly targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and supply chains by hacking companies that manufacture critical components such as electricity meters and sensors.

Demokhin said Ukraine had made recent progress in the investigation and was working closely with the ICC.

Not just Russian hackers are in the news, but Chinese hackers are also in action. Chinese group “Salt Typhoon” breached the US court wiretap system, after which a bipartisan group of US lawmakers ordered three telecoms to respond to inquiries.

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