China May Deploy AI-Generated Content To Disrupt Indian Elections: Microsoft

China is using fake social media accounts to poll voters on what divides them most to sow division and possibly influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in its favour; Despite the chances of such content in affecting election results remaining low, China’s increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos, and audio will likely continue – and may prove more effective down the line

FinTech BizNews Service    

Mumbai, April 7, 2024: With major elections taking place around the world this year, particularly in India, South Korea and the United States, Microsoft Threat Intelligence Team has assessed that China will, at a minimum, create and amplify AI-generated content to benefit its interests. 

According to alert issued by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, China is using fake social media accounts to poll voters on what divides them most to sow division and possibly influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in its favour. China has also increased its use of AI-generated content to further its goals around the world. North Korea has increased its cryptocurrency heists and supply chain attacks to fund and further its military goals and intelligence collection.  It has also begun to use AI to make its operations more effective and efficient. Despite the chances of such content in affecting election results remaining low, China’s increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos, and audio will likely continue – and may prove more effective down the line.

As per the the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) report, as populations in India, South Korea, and the United States head to the polls, we are likely to see Chinese cyber and influence actors, and to some extent North Korean cyber actors, work toward targeting these elections. China will, at a minimum, create and amplify AI-generated content that benefits their positions in these high-profile elections. While the impact of such content in swaying audiences remains low, China’s increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos, and audio will continue—and may prove effective down the line. While Chinese cyber actors have long conducted reconnaissance of US political institutions, we are prepared to see influence actors interact with Americans for engagement and to potentially research perspectives on US politics. Finally, as North Korea embarks upon new government policies and pursues ambitious plans for weapons testing, we can expect increasingly sophisticated cryptocurrency heists and supply chain attacks targeted at the defense sector, serving to both funnel money into the regime and facilitate the development of new military capabilities.

These are among the Microsoft Threat Intelligence insights in the latest East Asia report published by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) – Same targets, new playbooks: East Asia threat actors employ unique methods.

Three key findings emerge in the report:

• Deceptive social media accounts by Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-affiliated actors have started to pose contentious questions on controversial U.S. domestic issues to better understand the key issues that divide U.S. voters. This could be to gather intelligence and precision on key voting demographics ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
• There has been an increased use of Chinese AI-generated content in recent months, attempting to influence and sow division in the U.S. and elsewhere on a range of topics including: the train derailment in Kentucky in November 2023, the Maui wildfires in August 2023, the disposal of Japanese nuclear wastewater, drug use in the U.S. as well as immigration policies and racial tensions in the country. There is little evidence these efforts have been successful in swaying opinion.
• China’s geopolitical priorities remain unchanged but it has doubled down on its targets and increased the sophistication of its influence operations (IO) attacks. These priorities are:
  • The South Pacific islands
  • The South China Sea region
  • The U.S. defense industrial base

Inauthentic Chinese social media accounts try to learn more on what divides US voters

North Korean cyber operations

North Korea continued to prioritize the theft of cryptocurrency funds, conducting software supply-chain attacks and targeting their perceived national security adversaries. This is likely to generate revenue, principally for its weapons program, in addition to collecting intelligence on the United States, South Korea, and Japan.

The United Nations estimates that North Korean cyber actors have stolen over $3 billion in cryptocurrency since 2017. Heists totaling between $600 million and $1 billion occurred in 2023 alone.

Our report catalogs multiple instances of cryptocurrency heists, spear-phishing, and software supply-chain attacks and efforts to undermine the trilateral alliance between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.

Notably, Microsoft and OpenAI have observed the North Korean actor we call Emerald Sleet using tools powered by AI large-language models (LLMs) to make their operations more effective and efficient. Microsoft partnered with OpenAI to disable accounts and assets associated with Emerald Sleet.

Looking forward

With major elections taking place around the world this year, particularly in India, South Korea and the United States, we assess that China will, at a minimum, create and amplify AI-generated content to benefit its interests. Despite the chances of such content in affecting election results remaining low, China’s increasing experimentation in augmenting memes, videos, and audio will likely continue – and may prove more effective down the line. We can expect to see North Korea continue to steal cryptocurrency to fund space, miss.