Cisco Talos finds malware that sends its AI bill to the victim

On October 29, Cisco Talos, a security research team, told of NIK C2, malware that attackers use. It is control software for attackers. It operates on infected Windows computers and has an OpenAI client. If the attacker gives no key, it reads the OPENAI_API_KEY setting of the computer. Talos tells that OpenAI then sends the bill to the victim, and the logs show the key of the victim.

How it works

The attacker writes a prompt and selects a model in the control panel. The implant is the part of the malware on the victim computer. It sends the request to OpenAI from that computer and gives the answer to the attacker. The attacker can also send the data of the victim for AI analysis in the same session. Talos tells that the malware does this by design.

The numbers

Talos found 3 versions of the implant or more. The servers of the attackers were active. Talos thinks, with moderate confidence, that NIK C2 is a complete tool and not a proof of concept. The malware has more than 52 commands, for example credential theft and remote access. A screen lock module shows ransom demands in Bitcoin or USDT. It does not change any files.

What is not known

No count of victims is given. No name of the operators is given.

Insight: Attackers make victims pay for AI work

Other malware, Aokigahara and Aoki, gets AI tool logins. The tool MONST3R-AI uses AI keys that are stolen. NIK C2 reads the key on the infected computer. This reads as a change: attackers use the AI key of the victim as a free account, and the victim gets the bill. Each AI key is the same as a cloud payment credential.