Google Sues Chinese Cybercrime Network Over Gemini AI Use in Phishing Tool

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against a Chinese cybercrime network it says used the company's Gemini artificial intelligence models to build phishing software. The suit accuses the group of creating a tool named Outsider that supplies more than 290 pre-built templates impersonating financial service providers, government agencies and retailers.

Victims receive text messages claiming problems with brokerage accounts or eligibility for phone-carrier rewards, then are directed to fake sites where they enter personal and financial data. Google said the Outsider software has produced more than a million URLs and that the group also distributed step-by-step instructions for weaponizing AI-generated code to turn the templates into convincing fraudulent websites.

"On their own, these prompts appear to be innocent requests for programming assistance," the suit states.

The defendants are listed as 25 "Doe" defendants. The Hill was unable to reach an attorney for the 25 "Doe" defendants. Google stated it hopes the suit will disrupt the criminal enterprise and protect the online ecosystem, noting that AI enables hackers to work at much faster speeds.