Man Arrested for Creating Virus with Generative AI System in JapanJapanese man arrested for creating computer virus using generative AI

Tokyo, May 28 (EFE).- A 25-year-old Japanese man has been arrested for allegedly using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to create a computer virus that demanded ransom payments, the first case of its kind in the country.

“I thought that if I asked an AI, I could do anything,” the suspect said, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The man has no specialist IT knowledge, is unemployed and a resident of Kawasaki city, south of Tokyo.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, he is suspected of repeatedly asking multiple generative AI systems to extract information to create a computer virus to earn money.

The type of virus he created was ransomware, designed to encrypt data on targeted systems and demand cryptocurrency as ransom.

There was no evidence that he had used the virus or of any harm caused so far.

This is the first case in Japan in which someone has been arrested for creating a computer virus that exploits generative AI.

After Japan chaired the G7 last year, Tokyo wanted to open a debate on the “appropriate” use of AI, while the heads of several companies in the sector have visited the country in the last year.

Last year, the Ministry of Education also published school guidelines on the appropriate use of this technology in educational centers. EFE

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