According to a research published by Microsoft on Friday, China plans to employ artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content to attempt and sabotage the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in India as well as elections taking place in other nations including the US and South Korea.
According to Microsoft, China would “at a minimum” produce and share AI-generated content on social media that “benefits their positions in these high-profile elections.” The business added that although the likelihood of such content influencing election outcomes is still minimal, China’s growing experimentation with enhancing memes, videos, and audio will probably continue and “may prove more effective down the line.” The Microsoft Threat Analysis Centre (MTAC) released a report titled “Same targets, new playbooks: East Asia threat actors employ unique methods,” which includes these and other Microsoft Threat Intelligence findings.
According to Microsoft’s study, China sought to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create a disinformation campaign during the January Taiwan presidential election. The business claimed that this was the first instance of a state-sponsored organisation attempting to sway a foreign election through the use of AI-generated content.
However, Microsoft cautioned that China’s goals for this year may extend well beyond Taiwan. According to the business, since June 2023, it has noticed “a number of noteworthy cyber and influence trends from China and North Korea that demonstrate not only doubling down on familiar targets, but also attempts to use more sophisticated influence techniques to achieve their goals.”
Over the course of the last seven months, Microsoft claimed that Chinese cyber actors had broadly chosen three target areas: one group of Chinese actors had targeted entities extensively throughout the South Pacific Islands, and a second group of Chinese activity had continued a string of cyberattacks against regional adversaries in the South China Sea region. The US defence industrial base was penetrated by a third group of Chinese agents, the business claimed.
“Chinese influence campaigns persisted in improving content produced by or augmented by AI. The influencers driving these campaigns have demonstrated a readiness to produce original video, memes, and audio content in addition to amplifying AI-generated media that advances their strategic narratives, according to Microsoft.
According to Microsoft, threat actors headquartered in China have persisted in attacking organisations that are associated with China’s military and commercial objectives in and around the South China Sea, as well as government and telecoms institutions within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Microsoft reported that in the early autumn and winter of 2023, a Chinese cyber actor with the name of Flax Typhoon also attacked entities connected to US-Philippines military exercises. Since then, the cyber actor has targeted entities in the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, and the US.
-generated content to attempt){kind=link}