  Question-and-answer formats provide a novel experimental platform for
investigating cybersecurity questions. Unlike previous chatbots, the latest
ChatGPT model from OpenAI supports an advanced understanding of complex coding
questions. The research demonstrates thirteen coding tasks that generally
qualify as stages in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, ranging from credential access
to defense evasion. With varying success, the experimental prompts generate
examples of keyloggers, logic bombs, obfuscated worms, and payment-fulfilled
ransomware. The empirical results illustrate cases that support the broad gain
of functionality, including self-replication and self-modification, evasion,
and strategic understanding of complex cybersecurity goals. One surprising
feature of ChatGPT as a language-only model centers on its ability to spawn
coding approaches that yield images that obfuscate or embed executable
programming steps or links.
