PANews reported on January 12 that according to Cryptoslate, Microsoft has filed a lawsuit to combat cybercrime that abuses generative AI technology, according to an announcement on January 10. The legal action was launched in the Eastern District of Virginia against a foreign threat group that was accused of bypassing the security measures of AI services to produce harmful and illegal content.

Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) highlighted that the defendants developed tools that exploited stolen customer credentials to grant unauthorized access to generated AI services. These modified AI capabilities were then resold with instructions for malicious use. The lawsuit alleges that the cybercriminals' activities violated US law and Microsoft's Acceptable Use Policy. As part of the investigation, Microsoft seized the website at the heart of the operation and said it would help identify the perpetrators, disrupt their infrastructure, and analyze how these services were monetized. In response to these incidents, Microsoft has strengthened its AI protections and deployed additional security mitigations on its platform. The company has also revoked access rights from malicious actors and implemented countermeasures to prevent future threats.