Tuesday, 12 May 2026, 12:07 pm
Press Release: Google Threat Intelligence Group – GTIG
Cyber threat actors are increasingly integrating
artificial intelligence into real-world cyber operations,
according to a new report from Google Threat Intelligence
Group (GTIG), which warns the technology is now being used
to accelerate everything from vulnerability research to
phishing, malware development and disinformation
campaigns.
The latest GTIG AI Threat Tracker report
highlights growing activity from state-sponsored and
criminal actors linked to China, North Korea and Russia,
with researchers observing a shift from experimental AI use
toward more mature and operationalised attack
workflows.
GTIG said actors associated with the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) are showing significant
interest in using AI for vulnerability discovery and exploit
development. Researchers observed the use of specialised
vulnerability datasets and expert-style prompting techniques
to improve exploit generation capabilities.
The report
also details what researchers believe may be one of the
first known cases of AI-assisted zero-day exploit
development by cybercriminals. GTIG identified a
vulnerability exploitation campaign involving a two-factor
authentication bypass vulnerability likely discovered and
weaponised using AI tools.
Beyond exploit development,
GTIG warned that AI is increasingly being integrated into
malware and operational infrastructure. The report
identified activity linked to PRC-nexus group APT27 using
Gemini to accelerate development of tools likely supporting
operational relay box infrastructure designed to obscure
attack origins.
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Meanwhile, suspected Russia-linked
threat actors targeting Ukrainian organisations were found
using AI-generated decoy code inside malware families such
as CANFAIL and LONGSTREAM to help evade detection and
complicate forensic analysis.
One of the report’s
more concerning findings relates to the emergence of
autonomous AI-enabled malware. GTIG detailed how Android
backdoor PROMPTSPY uses Gemini to analyse device interfaces,
determine actions and autonomously interact with infected
devices.
Researchers said PROMPTSPY demonstrates a
broader shift toward AI-enabled attack orchestration, where
malware can interpret system states and carry out actions
without requiring continuous human oversight.
The
report also highlights increased use of AI for
reconnaissance and phishing operations. Threat actors were
observed using large language models to generate detailed
organisational hierarchies, map third-party relationships
and identify likely phishing targets within
enterprises.
GTIG additionally identified a growing
trend toward “agentic workflows”, where autonomous
frameworks are used to conduct reconnaissance and validate
vulnerabilities at scale. Researchers linked some of this
activity to suspected PRC-nexus operations targeting
organisations in Asia.
The report also documents how
AI-generated media is being incorporated into influence
operations. GTIG identified suspected AI voice cloning
activity associated with pro-Russia campaign “Operation
Overload”, which used manipulated video content designed
to imitate legitimate journalism.
Google said threat
actors are also attempting to industrialise access to
frontier AI models through automated registration pipelines,
proxy infrastructure and account pooling services designed
to bypass safety restrictions and account bans.
At the
same time, AI systems themselves are increasingly becoming
targets. GTIG identified malicious OpenClaw skill packages
and broader supply chain attacks affecting AI-related
platforms and repositories including LiteLLM and
BerriAI.
Despite these developments, Google said AI is
also strengthening defensive capabilities. The company
highlighted projects such as Big Sleep, an AI-powered
vulnerability discovery agent, and CodeMender, an
experimental system designed to automatically patch software
flaws.
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