Full Report
I wanted to do something a bit different and fun so I created a new site hackerfiction.medium.com with one purpose: Telling fictional short stories about hacking using AI. I’ve explained why and how I’m doing this in my Introduction blog, I recommend checking it out first.Ultimately, I made these stories for me. But think others may enjoy them too so I shared them. I’ve enjoyed making these short stories and generating some visuals. And I may make some more. To me, these stories show how the future of all entertainment will be influenced by AI.Interestingly, some have noted that these hacker fiction short stories, initially designed purely for fun, could also be used productively by governments, militaries, and organizations.The ideas are fundamentally generated by the human through a series of "what if" scenarios. The story contents are generated by the AI and then further edited to make sense by the human. For these stories to be useful, though, they would have to be halfway between the imaginary and the possible. Then @clementbriens pointed out to me that the French military even employs sci-fi writers full time for this specific purpose and linked it back to cyber threat intelligence. They create wargaming scenarios "at the crossroads of geopolitical, demographic, technological concerns and environmental." I am sure other militaries are also doing this as well, but the French also shared their scenarios publicly.Therefore, I went ahead and thought I'd create a simple diagram to illustrate how this could be leveraged by cybersecurity leaders to improve the cyber defense of organizations. This may not necessarily be an entirely new or original idea, but it is now arguably easier than ever with the help of AI.
Analysis Summary
# Main Topic
Leveraging AI-Generated Fictional Scenarios (Hacker Fiction) for Cyber Threat Intelligence and Adversary Simulation (Wargaming).
## Key Points
- The primary focus is repurposing AI-generated fictional stories about hacking for productive use by governments, militaries, and organizations.
- These stories are created using AI based on human-defined "what if" scenarios, then edited by the human to bridge the gap between purely imaginary and technically possible threats.
- This concept aligns with the practice of military organizations, such as the French military, which employs science fiction writers to create wargaming scenarios focusing on geopolitical, demographic, technological, and environmental factors.
- The author proposes that cybersecurity leaders can use this AI-assisted storytelling method to improve organizational cyber defense, potentially by creating advanced Table Top Exercises (TTX).
- The advancement of AI tools makes this type of advanced scenario generation significantly easier than before.
## Threat Actors
- No specific threat actors or groups are identified in relation to the fictional scenarios themselves.
- Reference is made to the established practice of militaries (e.g., the French military) employing methods similar to sci-fi writing for creating complex wargaming scenarios.
## TTPs
- The content focuses on the *creation* of scenarios rather than specific, observed hostile TTPs.
- The output is designed to simulate potential threats that could involve complex attack vectors at the "crossroads of geopolitical, demographic, technological concerns and environmental."
## Affected Systems
- Not applicable; the context discusses using this method for improving the cyber defense of generalized organizations, not a specific victim group.
## Mitigations
- The core "mitigation" discussed is the proactive use of these AI-assisted fictional/possible attack scenarios to improve cyber defense readiness.
- The identified use case is leveraging these scenarios for wargaming and organizational cyber defense improvement (similar to TTX).
## Conclusion
The introduction of AI into the creation of "hacker fiction" provides an accessible and efficient path for organizations to develop sophisticated, plausible adversary simulation scenarios. Cybersecurity leaders should consider adopting this method—drawing inspiration from military predictive modeling—to stress-test defenses against novel or complex blended threats that combine various domains.
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# Morning News Roll-up May 28, 2023
## Overview
The main topic discussed is the innovative use of AI to generate fictional hacking stories, which analysts suggest can be productively repurposed for advanced cyber defense planning and wargaming exercises by military and corporate entities.
## Top Stories
### Writing Hacker Fiction With Help From AI
- Summary: The author created fictional short stories about hacking using AI tools. These stories, initially for entertainment, are noted for their potential use by governments and militaries to generate plausible, 'halfway between imaginary and possible' threat scenarios for improved cyber defense planning and wargaming (Table Top Exercises).
- Source: hxxps://blog[.]bushidotoken[.]net/2023/05/writing-hacker-fiction-with-help-from-ai[.]html
### French Military's Use of Sci-Fi Writers for Scenario Planning
- Summary: The article highlights that the French military employs sci-fi writers full-time to create wargaming scenarios focusing on the intersection of geopolitical, demographic, technological, and environmental factors, directly linking this creative methodology to cyber threat intelligence practice.
- Source: Referenced via external link context regarding French military practices.
### Raspberry Robin Malware Campaign
- Summary: A brief mention of a popular post detailing the Raspberry Robin malware campaign, a global worm active since late 2021, known for facilitating pre-ransomware activity and utilizing USB propagation.
- Source: hxxps://blog[.]bushidotoken[.]net/2023/05/raspberry-robin-global-usb-malware[.]html