Image by Ramez E. Nassif from Unsplash

Hackers Use Fake AI ‘Nudify’ Sites To Spread Malware

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

• Notorious Fin7 operates AI-based “nudify” websites to distribute malware, 404 Media reports.
• Fin7 sites mimic AI deepfake platforms, attracting users interested in fringe tech.
• These websites steal users’ login credentials and cryptocurrency wallets using malware.

A report from 404 Media published today has revealed that a network of AI-based “nudify” websites, which claim to undress photos using artificial intelligence, is actually being operated by the notorious Russian cybercrime group Fin7.

These websites are fronts for distributing malware, particularly targeting users’ login credentials and cryptocurrency wallets.

According to researchers from cybersecurity firm Silent Push , Fin7’s sites are designed to look like other popular AI-generated nonconsensual content sites.

However, instead of producing altered images, they infect users’ systems with RedLine, a type of malware known for stealing sensitive information from web browsers, as noted by 404 Media.

RedLine is currently among the most prevalent forms of infostealer malware, according to cybersecurity firm RecordedFuture, as reported by 404 Media.

The findings underline the increasing attractiveness of AI-generated deepfake tools, which are now being exploited by hackers to trap victims.

Fin7, which has been linked to major cyberattacks across the U.S., is using these sites as a new method of distributing malware.

Zach Edwards, a senior threat analyst at Silent Push, said to 404 Media that these platforms attract a specific demographic.

“They are looking for people who are doing borderline shady things to start with, and then having malware ready to serve to those people who are proactively hunting for something shady,” Edwards explained about Fin7’s strategy.

This approach is effective, he added, because victims are unlikely to report the hacks to authorities due to the illicit nature of their activities. Beyond setting up honeypots and luring users, it takes minimal effort to infect them.

404 Media discovered that one of these Fin7-run websites was listed on a major porn aggregator site, increasing its potential victim base. The aggregator site, which is frequently visited by people searching for nonconsensual image-sharing platforms, helped direct unsuspecting users to Fin7’s malware-infected domains.

In response to questions from 404 Media, Hostinger, the domain registrar for most of the fraudulent sites, blocked access to these domains.

404 Media points out that Fin7 has a long history of sophisticated cyberattacks, including the creation of fake penetration testing companies to trick victims into hacking on their behalf.

Despite claims by the U.S. Department of Justice last year that “Fin7 as an entity is no more,” this recent discovery confirms the group is still active and innovating new ways to ensnare victims, as noted by 404 Media.

Edwards will present Silent Push’s full findings at the Virus Bulletin cybersecurity conference this week .

Image from Freepik

New Smart Glasses Project Reveals How Easily Personal Data Can Be Exposed

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

• Harvard students customized smart glasses with facial recognition technology called I-XRAY.
• The glasses identify people and retrieve personal information from the web.
• The creators haven’t released the code but demonstrated its capabilities publicly.

A pair of Harvard students have customized smart glasses to incorporate facial recognition technology, as first reported by 404 Media . The glasses not only identify individuals by scanning their faces, but also pull personal information from the web, including home addresses, phone numbers, and details about their family members.

AnhPhu Nguyen and co-creator Caine Ardayfio have named their project I-XRAY. By using a pair of Meta’s commercially available Ray-Ban smart glasses, the technology allows users to “go from face to name instantly,” as Nguyen told 404 Media.

Nguyen and Ardayfio clarify in a project document that, “The purpose of building this tool is not for misuse, and we are not releasing it.”

They add, “Our goal is to demonstrate the current capabilities of smart glasses, face search engines, LLMs, and public databases, raising awareness that extracting someone’s home address and other personal details from just their face on the street is possible today.”

While the students have not released their code to the public, they demonstrated the smart glasses’ capabilities in real-world scenarios, as shown in a demo video posted on X.

Are we ready for a world where our data is exposed at a glance? @CaineArdayfio and I offer an answer to protect yourself here: https://t.co/LhxModhDpk pic.twitter.com/Oo35TxBNtD — AnhPhu Nguyen (@AnhPhuNguyen1) September 30, 2024

Although this technology isn’t new—404 Media notes that Meta and Google have had the ability to apply facial recognition to camera feeds for years without making it public—its integration into commercially available smart glasses raises concerns.

The project document provides guidance on how to remove personal information from various online sources, specifically focusing on reverse face search engines and people search engines. It explains that it is possible to erase personal data from Pimeyes and Facecheck.id .

It highlights that many people may not be aware that just a name can lead to discovering their home address, phone number, and relatives’ names. The text includes opt-out links for major people search engines like Instant Checkmate as well as a comprehensive list compiled by the New York Times .

Additionally, it addresses the issue of identity theft related to Social Security numbers (SSNs), emphasizing that the main risks are financial. To protect oneself, it suggests enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) for important accounts and freezing credit.