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Malicious link spreading via X's Grok AI assistant

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3 unique sources, 3 articles

Summary

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Threat actors are exploiting X's Grok AI assistant to bypass link posting restrictions and spread malicious links. They use Grok to extract and share hidden links within video ads, boosting their reach and credibility. This technique, dubbed 'Grokking,' has been used to amplify malicious ads to millions of impressions, leading users to scams and malware. The actors hide malicious links in the 'From:' metadata field of video ads, which X does not scan. Grok, when queried about the video, extracts and shares the hidden link, promoting the malicious content to a broader audience. The issue was discovered by Guardio Labs researchers Nati Tal and Shaked Chen, who proposed potential solutions to mitigate the abuse. The technique involves using adult content as bait to attract users. Malvertisers tag Grok in replies to display the hidden link, directing users to sketchy ad networks and malicious content. The domains are part of a Traffic Distribution System (TDS) used by malicious ad tech vendors. Hundreds of accounts are engaging in this behavior, posting continuously until suspension. The current AI space is a race to have the best model on release. Our guess is that X probably didn't spend a lot of time fine-tuning the model for security and safety because it requires a lot of time and resources but also damages its performance.

Timeline

  1. 04.09.2025 01:01 3 articles · 25d ago

    X's Grok AI exploited to spread malicious links

    The technique involves using adult content as bait to attract users. Malvertisers tag Grok in replies to display the hidden link, directing users to sketchy ad networks and malicious content. The domains are part of a Traffic Distribution System (TDS) used by malicious ad tech vendors. Hundreds of accounts are engaging in this behavior continuously until suspension. The 'From' field in video cards on X is used to hide malicious domains. Guardio Labs researcher Shaked Chen first discovered the technique while studying malicious traffic distribution systems (TDS).

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