OpenAI Takes Down ChatGPT Accounts Linked to Iranian Threat Actors

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On Friday, OpenAI said it has taken down a few accounts linked to an Iranian group that was using ChatGPT to create content to meddle with the upcoming US elections, the conflict between Gaza and Israel, and a few other issues.

The group was identified as Storm-2035 and is said to have been operational since 2020.

An investigation by Microsoft revealed that it was creating both long-format articles and short comments for social media in English and Spanish.

Common topics included the following:

The group also had 5 websites of its own namely EvenPolitics, Nio Thinker, Savannah Time, Teorator, and Westland Sun. This is where they post the content generated from ChatGPT.

Along with ChatGPT, these websites also plagiarize content from other valid US publications. Some of these websites are progressive while some represent conservative media outlets.  This way, they could target people from both ends of the political spectrum.

The only silver lining here is that the content they posted did not get much engagement, hardly any likes and comments.

The Danger Is Far from Over 

Although OpenAI banning these accounts is a positive step, the danger of the upcoming US elections is far from over.

Microsoft had previously reported about Iran’s influence on the US elections. It also said that there’s been a sharp increase in foreign influence activity targeting the U.S. election over the past six months.

Along with Iranian groups, many Russian groups such as Ruza Flood (aka Doppelganger), Storm-1516, and Storm-1841 (aka Rybar) have been found spreading misinformation.

And Microsoft isn’t the only one to say so.

Similarly, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) also said that it detected and disrupted Iranian-backed spear-phishing attacks that were trying to compromise the personal accounts of high-profile users in Israel and the U.S., including those who are associated with the upcoming US elections.

Despite multiple attempts from the authorities and companies to curb such activities, these notorious groups are finding new ways to evade detection which includes spoofing well-known publications such as The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan, or Entertainment Weekly. We can’t see an end to this, at least not yet.