Study Reveals Cybercriminals' Use of AI Tools in Underground Forums

A study analyzed cybercriminal usage of AI tools by examining 163 discussion threads from 21 underground forums between January 1, 2025, and July 31, 2025. The dataset comprised 2,264 messages posted by 1,661 distinct contributors, revealing AI’s integration into daily criminal workflows. Threat actors discussed using chatbots to draft phishing emails, generate malicious code snippets, and coach social engineering calls. Most activity concentrated on well-known cybercrime forums, though specific platforms were not named. The research highlights AI’s growing role in automating and scaling cybercriminal operations without detailing technical implementations.