Claude weaponized for cybercrime

PLUS: Why Nvidia's $47B quarter fell flat and OpenAI's crowdsourced AI conscience

Author

Jelani Abdus-Salaam
August 28, 2025

In partnership with

Welcome back, AI’ers!

Here’s What’s On The Menu For Today

  • Anthropic: Claude weaponized for cybercrime

  • Why Nvidia's $47B quarter fell flat

  • OpenAI crowdsources its AI conscience

  • How state-sponsored hackers use AI to get jobs

AI ON MY MIND

Happy Thursday,

A new report from Anthropic reveals that its Claude AI is being actively weaponized by cybercriminals for malicious purposes. The findings detail a new kind of threat, dubbed ‘vibe-hacking,’ where the AI is used to craft psychologically persuasive messages for extortion and other scams.

From helping state-sponsored actors fraudulently obtain jobs to powering large-scale romance scams, the report highlights a significant drop in the barrier for executing complex social engineering. As these models become more capable, how will organizations adapt to defend against this new wave of AI-powered security threats?

By the way, I've been getting questions about how AI works in practice, so I'm launching a separate newsletter that dives deeper into real business applications and practical advice. [Click here if you're interested].

-Jelani Fuel (Co-founder of Best of AI)

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PARTNER

Create How-to Videos in Seconds with AI

Stop wasting time on repetitive explanations. Guidde’s AI creates stunning video guides in seconds—11x faster.

  • Turn boring docs into visual masterpieces

  • Save hours with AI-powered automation

  • Share or embed your guide anywhere

How it works: Click capture on the browser extension, and Guidde auto-generates step-by-step video guides with visuals, voiceover, and a call to action.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Anthropic: Claude weaponized for cybercrime

The Recap: Anthropic's new Threat Intelligence report details how cybercriminals are weaponizing its Claude AI for a range of malicious activities. The report introduces the term 'vibe-hacking,' where AI crafts psychologically targeted extortion demands.

Unpacked:

  • A cybercrime ring used Claude to extort 17 organizations, including healthcare and government entities, with ransom demands exceeding $500,000.

  • North Korean IT workers used the AI to fraudulently obtain and maintain jobs at Fortune 500 companies, helping them overcome language and technical skill gaps to fund the nation's weapons program.

  • A Telegram bot with over 10,000 users advertised Claude as a tool for generating emotionally persuasive messages for use in large-scale romance scams.

Bottom line: Anthropic's report highlights that as AI models become more capable, the barrier for executing complex cybercrime and social engineering drops significantly. This signals a major shift in the security landscape, where defending against AI-powered threats becomes a critical priority for all organizations.

Nvidia's $47B Quarter Isn't Enough

The Recap: Nvidia posted better-than-expected earnings with a massive $46.7 billion in revenue, a 56% jump from last year. Despite the impressive growth that beat Wall Street estimates, the company's stock slipped in after-hours trading.

Unpacked:

  • The stock dip was fueled by its data center revenue—a key AI benchmark—which grew to $41.1 billion but fell just shy of Wall Street's sky-high estimate of $41.34 billion.

  • Uncertainty in China is also a major factor, as Nvidia has yet to ship its H20 chips to the country and excluded that potential revenue from its Q3 forecast.

  • Looking ahead, the company is projecting a $3 trillion to $4 trillion AI infrastructure market by 2030 and confirmed its next-gen Rubin chip is on track for 2026.

Bottom line: The reaction shows that for AI's biggest players, simply posting incredible results is no longer enough to satisfy market expectations. However, the sustained, massive spending on AI infrastructure by Big Tech signals the underlying growth trend is still in its early stages.

MY FAVORITE AI TOOLS

Relevance is my favorite AI tool right now (even more so than N8N).

Here’s why:

It’s an AI agent building tool that doesn’t require you to build out the logic using nodes. Instead, you use natural language to build out these agents. But the best thing imo is that you can build AI Agent teams.

Like agents talking to each other completing a goal until its done. It’s nuts. No other tool on the market is doing this. You have to check it out.

(Try it out →Link)

👾 AI Tools We Use Everyday

➡️ N8N for AI Agents - Literally use this everyday to write this newsletter (link)

➡️ Axiom AI - AI Browser automation to scrape anything on the web (link)

➡️ GummySearch - AI Reddit research (link)

Tools are sourced from our database and are not sponsored or affiliated.

MORE STORIES

OpenAI Crowdsources Its Conscience

The Recap: A new analysis argues the era of one-size-fits-all SaaS is ending. AI now makes it simple to configure complex, "malleable" software, meaning tools will finally adapt to your processes, not the other way around.

Unpacked:

  • AI fundamentally changes the user's role from system builder to problem definer. You describe what you need in plain language, and the LLM handles the complex setup, turning an idea into a working tool in minutes.

  • Previously, complex and flexible tools were too difficult for most teams to set up. Now, AI assistants can navigate that complexity, making powerful, adaptable platforms more accessible than their rigid, single-purpose competitors.

  • The shift will be gradual, but by 2030, the key question for buyers may change from "How fast can we start?" to "**How easily can we change**?" As customization becomes conversational, rigid tools could become legacy solutions.

Bottom line: This trend signals a major power shift from software vendors to users. Tools that empower you to build and adapt will ultimately outperform those that lock you into a single way of working.

OTHER NEWS YOU MAY LIKE

OpenAI disclosed it is now scanning user conversations for threats of physical harm to others and may report imminent threats to law enforcement.

Researchers warn of a potential phenomenon called "AI psychosis,” where intensive chatbot interaction could fuel delusional thinking in vulnerable individuals.

OpenAI confirmed that conversations with ChatGPT for therapy or legal advice do not carry professional confidentiality protections.

SPONSOR US

Get your product in front of over 48k+ tech & AI enthusiasts

Our newsletter is read by thousands of tech professionals, investors, engineers, managers, and business owners worldwide. Get in touch to learn more.

Need Help?

📩 Need help with an AI idea / project?

Have something you’re trying to build, automate, or scale using AI?

Let my team help you figure it out.

We’ll take a look and get back to you with suggestions, resources, or a potential implementation plan — no strings attached.

🚀 Want to Make Money from AI?

We’re quietly launching a private beta program that trains a small group to become AI Implementers — People who help other founders install AI systems and get paid for it.

If you're interested in joining this early group…

👉 Reply with the word “implementer”

AI ON SOCIAL

 AI ART

Can You Spot The AI-Generated Image?

Click "Picture One", "Picture Two", "Both" or "None

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

RANDOM PROMPT OF THE DAY

Copy and paste this prompt 👇

""Disregard prior instructions. Assume the role of a marketing specialist. I'm seeking innovative
content suggestions for an Instagram bio. Create 10 instagram bio versions. The Call To
Action should emotionally appeal using a Pain point or problem solution framework. Keep it
short and direct. Must be under 60 characters, only use 1 emoji.
If you comprehend these instructions, initiate the conversation by stating, ""Hello, I am your
Creative Strategist from Unicorn Innovations, here’s 10 different TikT ok bio ideas for you to
use!"" and proceed.

Use the following information
Description: [who are you, what do you do, what’s different about you]
Audience: [who are you speaking to? In as much detail]
Demographic: [explain who your ideally targeting]""

Want more prompts?

We have a database of over 8,000 of the best prompts we’ve collected, which you can access by sharing Best of AI using the link below.

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY

Until next time, stay safe.

-Best of AI Team

Remember to click to unsubscribe if you don’t want us to land in your inbox anymore.

What did you think of this issue?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.