AI Threat Report: How Artificial Intelligence Is Used Across Illicit Communities

AI agents are moving deeper into offensive cyber operations. In a campaign highlighted in September reporting, a Chinese-speaking operator reportedly deployed multiple open-source AI agent frameworks to find and exploit vulnerabilities across several targets, automating work that would ordinarily require hands-on effort from an attacker.

The reported activity illustrates how AI tools are being applied to increasingly complex stages of an attack, including tasks that traditionally require substantial technical expertise and hands-on effort.

Meanwhile, the volume of AI-related activity across illicit communities continues to climb.

In September 2026, Flashpoint analysts identified 8,837,186 posts discussing artificial intelligence in the context of illicit activity, up from 7,461,908 in August. That represents an approximately 18% increase in a single month.

Across forums, marketplaces, and chat services, threat actors continue to advertise AI services, exchange techniques, and explore ways to incorporate AI into fraud, identity verification bypass, social engineering, and offensive cyber operations.

To track these developments, Flashpoint’s monthly AI Threat Report analyzes primary source communities across forums, marketplaces, and chat services. This month’s intelligence highlights a sharp increase in AI-enabled identity verification bypass activity, continued demand for malicious AI capabilities, and emerging examples of AI agent tooling being used in offensive operations.

Where AI Activity Is Concentrated

Telegram remained the dominant source of observed AI service advertisements in September, with 6,309,872 posts, up from 4,899,407 in August. That represents an approximately 29% month-over-month increase.

Activity across other platforms was substantially lower. Flashpoint identified 20,361 posts on GitHub Gist, followed by Pastebin (6,288), Signal (6,123), and Reddit (5,882). Smaller volumes were observed across 4chan, BlackHatWorld, Discord, Mastodon, and other sources.

As with previous months, these figures do not represent unique advertisements or services. Threat actors frequently repeat or distribute the same messages across multiple channels and platforms to maximize exposure.

Telegram’s continued dominance underscores its importance as a distribution channel for illicit AI services. Other platforms provide additional avenues for sharing technical material, advertising capabilities, and discussing methods.

The distribution of activity also reinforces why post volume requires context. Repeated advertisements can inflate overall counts, making it important to examine the underlying services and techniques being promoted alongside changes in activity.

AI-Enabled Fraud and Identity Verification Bypass

Discussions of AI-enabled identity verification bypass continued to accelerate in September.

Flashpoint analysts observed 1,171,914 posts advertising or discussing Know Your Customer (KYC) bypass methods using AI technology, including deepfake technology. That compares with 751,644 posts in August, representing an approximately 56% month-over-month increase.

The increase is particularly noteworthy given the growth already observed in August, when KYC-related activity nearly doubled from July. Across the past two months, the number of observed posts has nearly tripled, rising from 394,567 in July to more than 1.17 million in September.

These discussions are concentrated in Telegram channels advertising methods designed to circumvent identity verification controls through generative AI, including deepfake technology.

For financial institutions and other organizations that rely on digital identity verification, this activity warrants close attention. AI-enabled impersonation can create additional challenges for onboarding, account recovery, and other processes that depend on verifying a user’s identity.

The sustained increase in underground discussion also provides security and fraud teams with an important signal about where threat actor interest is concentrated, even when repeated advertisements contribute to the overall volume.

Malicious LLM Usage and Prompt-Based Workflows

Malicious and unrestricted large language models (LLMs) remained part of the AI-related activity observed across Flashpoint Collections in September.

Threat actors continue to develop their own models or seek ways to bypass safeguards imposed by mainstream AI services. These capabilities can support phishing, social engineering, harmful code generation, and the creation of malicious or offensive content.

The availability of malicious and unrestricted LLMs gives threat actors additional options for incorporating AI into existing workflows. Models designed or modified to circumvent safety restrictions can be used to generate content and technical material that mainstream services would ordinarily reject.

These tools also introduce challenges for security teams assessing how AI-enabled threats are evolving. Understanding which models are being discussed, how they are marketed, and the capabilities being sought by threat actors can provide insight into emerging areas of interest across illicit communities.

Notable AI-Related Activity Observed in September

Flashpoint identified several notable developments involving AI infrastructure and the growing use of AI in offensive cyber operations.

September reporting highlighted a Chinese-speaking operator reportedly using three open-source AI agent frameworks, including Strix and Cairn, to automate vulnerability discovery and exploitation across multiple targets, according to The Register, citing Gambit.

These developments highlight two areas of concern: the targeting of proprietary AI infrastructure and the potential for agent-based tools to accelerate offensive operations. For security teams, both reinforce the importance of protecting AI development environments and addressing exploitable weaknesses before attackers can capitalize on them.

What Security Teams Should Take Away

September’s intelligence points to continued growth in AI-related criminal activity, with particularly sharp increases in discussions surrounding identity verification bypass.

Flashpoint observed more than 8.8 million posts discussing AI and criminal activity, while KYC bypass discussions exceeded 1.17 million posts for the first time in the three-month period examined.

At the same time, reported activity involving AI agent frameworks illustrates how automation is extending into more complex offensive workflows. Threat actors are exploring ways to apply AI to vulnerability discovery and exploitation, alongside its established uses in fraud, impersonation, and social engineering.

For security teams, these developments reinforce the importance of maintaining visibility into the communities where new capabilities are discussed, advertised, and tested. Tracking changes in activity and understanding how tools are being applied can help organizations identify emerging risks and better prioritize their defenses.

To see how Flashpoint can help your team identify and respond to emerging threats, request a demo.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the Flashpoint AI Threat Report?

The Flashpoint AI Threat Report is a monthly intelligence analysis tracking how threat actors use and discuss artificial intelligence across illicit communities. Built on Flashpoint’s primary source collection, the report provides visibility into underground forums, chat services, marketplaces, and other environments where AI-related criminal activity is discussed and advertised.

How are threat actors currently using AI in cybercrime?

Threat actors are using or exploring AI capabilities across a range of criminal activities, including identity verification bypass, phishing, social engineering, malicious code generation, and vulnerability discovery.

September reporting also highlighted the use of AI agent frameworks to automate elements of offensive cyber operations, including vulnerability discovery and exploitation.

How rapidly is illicit AI activity growing in cybercrime communities?

Flashpoint analysts identified 8,837,186 posts discussing AI and criminal activities in September 2026, compared with 7,461,908 in August. This represents an approximately 18% month-over-month increase.

Activity related to AI-enabled KYC bypass also grew substantially, reaching 1,171,914 posts in September, an increase of approximately 56% from August.

These figures measure observed posts, rather than unique threat actors, services, or confirmed attacks.

Which messaging platforms and forums host the most illicit AI chatter?

Telegram continues to account for the largest concentration of observed AI service advertisements. Flashpoint identified more than 6.3 million posts advertising AI services on Telegram in September.

Other sources included GitHub Gist, Pastebin, Signal, Reddit, 4chan, BlackHatWorld, Discord, and Mastodon.

What are malicious LLMs?

Malicious LLMs are AI models developed, modified, or marketed for purposes that mainstream AI services typically restrict. Threat actors may use these models to generate phishing content, assist with social engineering, create harmful code, or support other criminal activities.

Flashpoint continues to track discussion of these models across illicit communities to understand how their capabilities and use cases are evolving.