Google sues scammers over fake Bard AI malware

Google on Monday filed a lawsuit in California federal court docket in opposition to nameless people it accused of promoting pretend “downloads” of its artificial-intelligence chatbot Bard as a way to set up malware on victims’ computer systems.

Google stated the alleged scammers are misusing its logos with names like “Google AI” and “AIGoogleBard” to lure customers into putting in the malware, which the tech big stated permits the defendants to steal social-media login credentials.

The defendants, recognized within the grievance as Does 1-3, couldn’t be reached. Google normal counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado stated in an announcement that the scammers “misled numerous people around the world” and that the corporate has filed practically 300 associated takedown requests.

DeLaine Prado stated such lawsuits are “an effective tool for establishing a legal precedent, disrupting the tools used by scammers, and raising the consequences for bad actors.”

Tech firms together with Google have been racing to include synthetic intelligence into their merchandise. Google first launched Bard publicly in March.

The lawsuit filed Monday stated that the scammers use social media posts and net pages to promote free downloads of Bard, which in actuality is just not downloadable. They then use the malware downloaded by victims to take over their social media accounts.

The firm stated targets of the scheme embody small companies and different Facebook advertisers. Google additionally accused the defendants of violating its phrases of service by impersonating the corporate and internet hosting the malware on Google Sites and Google Drive.

The tech big requested the court docket to dam the scheme and requested the scammers’ income and different financial damages.

The case is Google LLC v. Does 1-3, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 5:23-cv-05823.

For Google: Tiana Demas of Cooley

For the defendants: legal professional data not but accessible

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