'Threat actors are adapting social engineering and monetization strategies to modern user behavior': Microsoft warns AI chatbots may be sending victims to malicious websites so be on your guard when clicking

Date:
Wed, 27 May 2026 23:20:00 +0000

Description:
What happens when an AI recommends a tool, and that tool ends up being malicious?

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Microsoft researchers observed cybercriminals adapting SEO poisoning tactics to AI platforms, tricking AI into recommending spoofed utility sites like HWMonitor and CrystalDiskInfo Victims who follow these AIsuggested links download malware via DLL sideloading, which installs ScreenConnect for attacker access and can lead to cryptojacking Defenders should treat AI recommendations with the same caution as search results, verifying links before downloading to avoid compromise
With the advent of AI, internet search habits among most users have drastically changed, with the way cybercriminals deliver malware to their victims also changing as a result.

In the years before AI, crooks would use the SEO poisoning technique to
trick search engines into showing malicious and fraudulent websites at the very top of search engine results pages. By leveraging the trust users had in these engines, crooks could expect the malware to be downloaded without much scrutiny. But now, AI tools are eating away at search engines market share, with a new report from Microsoft finding threat actors found a way to trick
AI into recommending fake and malicious links. Latest Videos From You may
like AI security scams: How to spot the signs, and not fall for this growing menace 5 frightening AI-powered threats that could hit your business hard AI-generated threats are hitting businesses harder than ever - do you know what to look out for? Dropping a cryptojacker Its an interesting find, since most SEO experts still havent cracked that code and since there is no
industry standard on getting mentioned by the AI.

In any case, Microsoft said it observed cybercriminals creating fraudulent websites spoofing popular PC utilities such as HWMonitor, or CrystalDiskInfo. They (somehow) get the AI to mention these websites to people asking about these tools and if people believe the AI, they end up downloading malware.

The malware is loaded onto the device using the DLL sideloading technique which, in turn, installs ScreenConnect and grants the attackers direct access to the device. The miscreants would then profile the device, scan the network and, if they so decide, install a cryptojacker.

The cryptojacker then mines cryptocurrency for the attackers, earning them virtual coins as the victims are left with an unusable computer and an enormous electricity bill. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features
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"This combination of AI-assisted delivery, software impersonation, and persistent access highlights how threat actors are adapting social
engineering and monetization strategies to modern user behavior," Microsoft said.

To defend against these attacks, users should do the same things they do against SEO poisoning attacks - not trust the AI/search engine responses blindly. The best antivirus for all budgets Our top picks, based on
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/threat-actors-are-adapting-social-engin eering-and-monetization-strategies-to-modern-user-behavior-microsoft-warns-ai- chatbots-may-be-sending-victims-to-malicious-websites-so-be-on-your-guard-when -clicking


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