A newly discovered vulnerability in Google’s Gemini for Workspace allows attackers to manipulate artificial intelligence (AI)-generated email summaries. Threat actors embed concealed instructions in seemingly benign emails to bypass traditional email security. Review the details within this Cybersecurity Threat Advisory to learn how to protect your organization.
What is the threat?
Unlike conventional phishing attempts that rely on suspicious links or attachments, this attack method leverages the trusted relationship users have with Google’s AI assistant. Attackers conceal malicious text using HTML and CSS formatting, such as zero font size and matching background and text colors. While this hidden content stays invisible to human readers, Gemini’s summarization feature still processes it.
Why is this noteworthy?
This vulnerability demonstrates the evolution of social engineering tactics that specifically targets AI-assisted productivity tools. As organizations increasingly adopt AI assistants for productivity, this creates new vectors for attackers that security teams may not be prepared to address. Users will be more likely to follow instructions that appear in a summary from a trusted AI. Furthermore, since there are no attachments or visible links, this new phishing tactic will likely evade security measures.
What is the exposure or risk?
Organizations face several specific risks from this vulnerability:
- Undetected delivery: These attacks are difficult to catch because they lack typical red flags. There are no suspicious links or attachments that users or email filters would usually identify as dangerous.
- Credential harvesting: Attackers can generate convincing security alerts that direct users to call fake support numbers or visit phishing sites to “verify” their accounts.
- Data exfiltration: Users might be tricked into sharing sensitive information based on seemingly legitimate instructions from a trusted AI system.
- Reduced security confidence: Successful attacks could undermine user trust in AI tools and legitimate security notifications alike.
- Widespread impact: Any organization using Google Workspace with Gemini features is potentially vulnerable, regardless of industry or size.
What are the recommendations?
To protect your organization from this emerging threat, Barracuda recommends implementing a multi-layered defense strategy:
- Enhance email filtering: Configure email security solutions to detect and neutralize hidden text formatting techniques. These are commonly used in these attacks, such as zero-sized fonts or text colored to match backgrounds.
- Implement AI output scanning: Deploy tools that analyze AI-generated content for potential security warnings, urgent instructions, or requests for sensitive information before displaying them to users.
- Update security awareness training: Include specific modules on AI-assisted threats and teach users to verify any security warnings through official channels regardless of source.
- Consider limiting AI summarization features: For highly sensitive environments, evaluate whether to restrict AI summarization capabilities for certain types of communications until more robust protections are available.
How can Barracuda protect you against this threat?
Barracuda Email Protection provides comprehensive defenses against sophisticated email-based threats like this Google Gemini vulnerability:
- Advanced AI detection: Barracuda’s AI-powered email security can identify suspicious patterns and hidden content in emails that might be used for prompt injection attacks.
- Security awareness training: Barracuda’s training solutions help educate users about emerging threats like AI-based attacks, teaching them to recognize and report suspicious content.
Barracuda Managed XDR provides your organization with 24/7 monitoring and threat hunting capabilities. These services help detect anomalies and uncover potential breaches related to AI exploitation.
Reference
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If you have any questions about this Cybersecurity Threat Advisory, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Barracuda Managed XDR’s Security Operations Center.
This post originally appeared on Smarter MSP.