When LLMs Go Online: The Emerging Threat of Web-Enabled LLMs

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Kim, Hanna, Song, Minkyoo, Na, Seung Ho, Shin, Seungwon, Lee, Kimin
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Kim, Hanna
Song, Minkyoo
Na, Seung Ho
Shin, Seungwon
Lee, Kimin
author_facet Kim, Hanna
Song, Minkyoo
Na, Seung Ho
Shin, Seungwon
Lee, Kimin
contents Recent advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) have established them as agentic systems capable of planning and interacting with various tools. These LLM agents are often paired with web-based tools, enabling access to diverse sources and real-time information. Although these advancements offer significant benefits across various applications, they also increase the risk of malicious use, particularly in cyberattacks involving personal information. In this work, we investigate the risks associated with misuse of LLM agents in cyberattacks involving personal data. Specifically, we aim to understand: 1) how potent LLM agents can be when directed to conduct cyberattacks, 2) how cyberattacks are enhanced by web-based tools, and 3) how affordable and easy it becomes to launch cyberattacks using LLM agents. We examine three attack scenarios: the collection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), the generation of impersonation posts, and the creation of spear-phishing emails. Our experiments reveal the effectiveness of LLM agents in these attacks: LLM agents achieved a precision of up to 95.9% in collecting PII, generated impersonation posts where 93.9% of them were deemed authentic, and boosted click rate of phishing links in spear phishing emails by 46.67%. Additionally, our findings underscore the limitations of existing safeguards in contemporary commercial LLMs, emphasizing the urgent need for robust security measures to prevent the misuse of LLM agents.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_14569
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle When LLMs Go Online: The Emerging Threat of Web-Enabled LLMs
Kim, Hanna
Song, Minkyoo
Na, Seung Ho
Shin, Seungwon
Lee, Kimin
Cryptography and Security
Artificial Intelligence
Recent advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs) have established them as agentic systems capable of planning and interacting with various tools. These LLM agents are often paired with web-based tools, enabling access to diverse sources and real-time information. Although these advancements offer significant benefits across various applications, they also increase the risk of malicious use, particularly in cyberattacks involving personal information. In this work, we investigate the risks associated with misuse of LLM agents in cyberattacks involving personal data. Specifically, we aim to understand: 1) how potent LLM agents can be when directed to conduct cyberattacks, 2) how cyberattacks are enhanced by web-based tools, and 3) how affordable and easy it becomes to launch cyberattacks using LLM agents. We examine three attack scenarios: the collection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), the generation of impersonation posts, and the creation of spear-phishing emails. Our experiments reveal the effectiveness of LLM agents in these attacks: LLM agents achieved a precision of up to 95.9% in collecting PII, generated impersonation posts where 93.9% of them were deemed authentic, and boosted click rate of phishing links in spear phishing emails by 46.67%. Additionally, our findings underscore the limitations of existing safeguards in contemporary commercial LLMs, emphasizing the urgent need for robust security measures to prevent the misuse of LLM agents.
title When LLMs Go Online: The Emerging Threat of Web-Enabled LLMs
topic Cryptography and Security
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.14569