Mastodawn

Kevin Beaumont Oct 29

The management at my org is thankfully very good and gets it, but if you are struggling to explain to your management as to why they should stop sucking the GenAI marketing juice and chasing the AI laser pointer like a cat and instead do foundational security, explain it a way they'll understand: AI.

Kevin Beaumont Oct 29

Also, if your management has seen the widely reported "80% of Ransomware Attacks are AI-Driven" headline published by MIT, it was paid for by a vendor.

The paper is absolutely ridiculous. It describes almost every major ransomware group as using AI - without any evidence (it's also not true, I monitor many of them). It even talks about Emotet (which hasn't existed for many years) as being AI driven.

It cites things like CISA reports for GenAI usage.. but CISA never said AI anywhere.

The PDF is here and is absolutely crackers, MIT should be ashamed of themselves for letting this out the door.

https://cams.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/Safe-CAMS-MIT-Article-Final-4-7-2025-Working-Paper.pdf

No, REvil don't use AI to set ransom demands, CISA never said that, none of the sources cited said that, and they were running before the GenAI craze. It's just absolute nonsense, every page is.

Kevin Beaumont Oct 29

If you want to know why MIT are working with Safe Security and what Safe Security are doing... they sell an AI product which they say is developed with MIT to solve the report they made up, after receiving 8 figures in VC funding.

Kevin Beaumont Nov 1

Update: MIT have removed the study after this thread.

Kevin Beaumont Nov 3

I have asked MIT these questions:

1) Is this paper being retracted?

2) How much money was paid to MIT Sloan by Safe Security?

3) What part did Safe Security play in the paper creation and review?

Kevin Beaumont Nov 3

It isn't a new paper btw - e.g. senior MIT people have been using it in public at a cybersecurity conference earlier this year and linking to the now deleted PDF.

Kevin Beaumont Nov 3

The Financial Times today links to the now deleted MIT study https://www.ft.com/content/56cb100e-7146-488f-aae5-55304ae0eff6

If anybody knows anybody at the FT, could we please tell them it's fake?

Kevin Beaumont Nov 3

MIT have also silently, without noting on the pages, started rewriting their website to remove references to their own work. They've also changed the URLs of the pages to remove references.

Left, before: https://archive.ph/SckSr

Right, after: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/80-ransomware-attacks-now-use-artificial-intelligence

Kevin Beaumont Nov 3

I'm coining another term - cyberslop.

Cyberslop is where trusted institutions use baseless claims about cyber threats from generative AI to profit, abusing their perceived expertise.

I'm also starting a series about it, called CyberSlop. Much more soon.

Kevin Beaumont Nov 3

Kevin Beaumont Nov 3

Several members of MIT sit on Safe Security's board -- who paid for the paper, including the person cited as the author of the paper.

Kevin Beaumont Nov 3

New by me - CyberSlop, where I look at orgs misusing GenAI fears to take from their own customers.

First threat actor - MIT and Safe Security go full cyberslop.

https://doublepulsar.com/cyberslop-meet-the-new-threat-actor-mit-and-safe-security-d250d19d02a4

CyberSlop — meet the new threat actor, MIT and Safe Security

Cybersecurity vendors peddling nonsense isn’t new, but lately we have a new dimension — Generative AI.

Medium

Kevin Beaumont Nov 5

According to MIT, Shodan is AI. 🥴

Kevin Beaumont Nov 5

The whole report is like that btw. It even lists ransomware groups who disbanded before the GenAI stuff as using GenAI. It also cites no evidence for any of the groups using GenAI.

I suspect Safe Security authored the problematic bits but to be confirmed. Safe Security’s website is absolutely full of absolute nonsense, reads like it is AI generated, and has AI artwork of Chad AI robots on it.

Kevin Beaumont Dec 4

A vendor has made a paid Forbes magazine post trying to redefine cyberslop as "High-Volume AI Threats"

Klaus Frank Dec 4

@GossiTheDog Nah, just looks like the usual clickbait article bullshit to me though.

Turn brain off, write some garbage, maybe have an LLM generate parts or all of it for you and post it without looking at it...

@GossiTheDog appears there might already be a AI generated song called Cyberslop

Stefan Prandl Nov 5

@GossiTheDog Big if true. Though if it is true, it’s vitally important someone gives me a neural computer interface and a ticket to Saturn.

fuzzyfuzzyfungus Nov 5

@GossiTheDog What they told us was true; from a certain point of view.

Phil Burg (he/him)Nov 5

@GossiTheDog
From discussions with non-IT people, anything that implements an algorithm is AI.

@Standard_Phil @GossiTheDog no no thats magic, cult or religion... ;-)

theHastyOne Nov 5

@GossiTheDog I mean that is the new marketing trend, right? Oh this application does OCR..the same OCR we have done for like 15 years... That's AI...you have an app that has a ML program to recognize hotdogs and not hotdogs....that's AI... The computer did spell check..you guessed it AI!

Neural networks not needed

Bill, organizer of stuff Nov 5

@GossiTheDog 💀

Falk Heiland 🇺🇦 🇪🇺Nov 5

@GossiTheDog I had a MVP claim in a presentation enigma back in WW2 was ai. Dumbest timeline something something

plasticine_era Nov 5

@GossiTheDog I'm AI ... and so's my wife....

@GossiTheDog sneakily using AI for automated instruments, eh?
Or "everything is AI, if you're brave enough"?

@GossiTheDog You could probably consider it AI under the academic definition that's been in use since the 50s, but now everyone thinks all AI = LLMs or MLMs.

Danny Palmer Nov 5

@GossiTheDog I know pretty much all cyber firms say everything they do is AI now, but this firmly takes the cake.

Metacurity Nov 3

@GossiTheDog Kevin, I have to reiterate, MIT did not talk to me. You need to correct your piece.

@GossiTheDog the IoC section is gold. Bravo 👏

Mats Wernolf Nov 3

@GossiTheDog
Articles like this actually lowers my blood pressure as realise there is a resistance to this AI bs that corporates try to drown us in. Thanks

@GossiTheDog thanks, just blocked the IoCs

Mordoc 🇨🇦 (VA6STM)Nov 3

@GossiTheDog Thankfully someone is listening you, the sage among the fools! https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/03/mit_sloan_updates_ai_ransomware_paper/

MIT Sloan quietly shelves AI ransomware study after researcher calls BS

: Even AI has doubts about the claim that '80% of ransomware attacks are AI-driven'

The Register

Brian Clark Nov 4

@GossiTheDog brutal takedown 😮

@GossiTheDog
This is so good.

@GossiTheDog the heck

Cat 🐈🥗 (D.Burch)

@GossiTheDog One might think there's a slight conflict of interest there

@catsalad @GossiTheDog

Fortunately, critical thinking is one of the first things that regular use of "AI" slop helps smooth away. Problem solved!

Lulu Powerful Nov 3

@GossiTheDog Holy shit.

Adrian Sanabria Nov 3

@GossiTheDog I wonder how Safe’s lawsuit with Security Scorecard is going.

https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/securityscorecard-accuses-safe-security-trade-secret-theft-a-25423

@GossiTheDog follow the money.

@GossiTheDog just dropping this here, and wondering if there’s going to be any awkward moments there

https://safe.security/resources/events/safe-at-the-10th-annual-fair-institute-conference/

SAFE at the 10th Annual FAIR Institute Conference - Safe Security

Safe Security

@GossiTheDog Aaaah, classic

Geeden_Of_Arden Nov 3

@GossiTheDog What are the odds that an LLM was used extensively in the production of the "research"?

Simon Zerafa Nov 3

Cyberslop.ai is available for registration. It's a bit pricey for me to register for shitposting 😇🤷‍♂️

redsakana Nov 3

@GossiTheDog An FT opinion piece also linked to it like today 🤡 Quite a few people pointing out the takedown in comments.

@GossiTheDog Have they retracted it? Their press office ought to know.

@GossiTheDog You've successfully shamed them into deleting it 😁

fuzzyfuzzyfungus Nov 1

@GossiTheDog Maybe it can keep the paper about AI totally vibing at material science company.

https://economics.mit.edu/news/assuring-accurate-research-record

Assuring an accurate research record | MIT Economics

@GossiTheDog my guy *high five*

RootWyrm 🇺🇦

@GossiTheDog but, but, but MIT is a paragon of science and only takes the most intelligent people on Earth and would never participate in fraud!

K.C. Budd Nov 1

@rootwyrm @GossiTheDog <laughs in "toroidal propeller" shapes>

Tor Lillqvist Nov 1

@phreakmonkey @rootwyrm @GossiTheDog Where can I find objective (and scientific) critique of toroidal propellers? I hadn't heard of them before. (I found some random Youtuber with a 3D printer making his own, just eyeballing their shape, but that doesn't sound like a scientifically valid test.)

Ben Aveling Nov 3

Maybe start here: https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-toroidal-propeller-and-could-it-change-the-future-of-drones-an-expert-explains-206498

@tml @phreakmonkey @rootwyrm @GossiTheDog

What is a ‘toroidal propeller’ and could it change the future of drones? An expert explains

Can one invention revolutionise propellers, whose basic design has been around for over 100 years? Not so fast.

The Conversation

K.C. Budd Nov 3

@BenAveling @tml @rootwyrm @GossiTheDog Right, and you'll notiace that an "objective and scientific critique" this is *not*.

MIT's claims (and all the subsequent hype) around toroidal propellers being superior and quieter on drones were completely devoid of actual data or rigor, smelling almost entirely of snake-oil. Alternative propeller shapes have been in use for decades, this felt a lot like someone using MIT's name to push nonsense.

I've yet to find anything that substantiates it.

@rootwyrm @GossiTheDog past tense. Like 5 decades ago. Something has gone very wrong there since then.

Don_Rubiel Nov 3

@rootwyrm @GossiTheDog the advisor of the 2012 mexican ex-president was working at MIT. After stealing so much money that half of the hospitals planned were useless https://forbes.com.mx/inservibles-50-de-los-hospitales-donde-invirtio-el-gobierno-de-pena-nieto/ leading to so much death during covid, he then goes to work at MIT. I believe this honor was actually his payment from USA, since he was also behind the privatization of mexican industries.

Inservibles, 50% de los hospitales donde invirtió el gobierno de Peña Nieto

De 326 hospitales, 160 obras están suspendidas por considerarse que existe un riesgo, de acuerdo con un reporte de la Secretaría de Salud (Ssa) entregó al presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Forbes México

Classic MIT.

fuzzyfuzzyfungus Oct 29

@GossiTheDog It tracks that this is what would come out of the business school side; but that should generate way more shame than it does.

At least the Media Lab NANDA people put some effort into a vision of future state so dark all who beheld it would welcome the swift simplicity of terminators instead; rather than just snake oil.

tripleman, a 🇨🇦 in 🇩🇪Oct 29

@GossiTheDog I was going to snarkily ask ‘did AI write the paper?’ but the answer is obviously yes.

AlexTECPlayz Oct 29

@GossiTheDog perhaps the paper was AI-generated as well? 🙃