DarkBard: The “Evil Twin” of Google Bard

In the shadowy realm of cybercrime, DarkBard has emerged as a significant player, representing a crossover into non-OpenAI territory. As its name suggests, DarkBard is modeled as the dark counterpart to Google’s Bard AI. This tool surfaced in mid-2023, riding the same wave that brought other malicious AI tools like FraudGPT and WormGPT to prominence. Notably, the cybercriminal seller known as “CanadianKingpin,” who launched FraudGPT, also advertised DarkBard on dark web forums and Telegram channels.

Capabilities of DarkBard

Pitched as “the evil twin of Google’s Bard,” DarkBard is designed to be a versatile, real-time malicious AI, capable of processing live data from the open web — much like Bard itself. This functionality enhances its adaptability and context-awareness in attacks, allowing DarkBard to incorporate the latest news or target-specific information into phishing content or scams, making it a powerful tool for social engineering.

The advertised feature set of DarkBard is extensive. Reportedly, it can generate misinformation and fake content, produce deepfakes or facilitate their creation, handle multilingual communications, and generate a wide range of outputs, from code to lengthy articles. Uniquely, DarkBard is said to integrate with image analysis tools (like Google Lens) to assist in image-based tasks.

In practical terms, this means DarkBard could write phishing emails in multiple languages, create malicious code, draft convincing fake news releases, and even analyze or generate images — to help bypass CAPTCHA or create fake identification documents, for example. This all-in-one range of capabilities positions DarkBard as a Swiss Army knife for cybercriminals, effectively serving as a full-spectrum AI co-conspirator that can aid in everything from technical hacking to influence campaigns.

Promotion and pricing

DarkBard was marketed as part of a suite of AI tools sold by CanadianKingpin in 2023. Alongside FraudGPT and “DarkBERT,” DarkBard was offered through a Telegram channel and forum posts under a subscription model. According to threat intelligence reports, pricing for DarkBard started at around $100 per month, with options for a lifetime license priced up to $1,000. This pricing strategy positioned DarkBard as a mid-to-high tier product within the lineup, slightly cheaper than DarkBERT but more expensive than FraudGPT.

The marketing angle for DarkBard heavily emphasized its capabilities as Bard without limits, appealing to criminals who wanted Google’s AI competency without the ethical constraints. Advertisements were observed on various forums, and a Telegram group called “TheCashFlowCartel” was used to promote these AI tools. While specific visual branding for DarkBard was less public — likely because it was being sold in the same channels as FraudGPT — we can infer that cybercrime service ads highlighted its ability to do things like find leaks and vulnerabilities and monitor websites and markets, all powered by Bard’s infrastructure. In essence, it was marketed as Bard supercharged for bad actors.

Real-world use and updates

It’s crucial to note that, like FraudGPT, DarkBard may not have fully delivered on its promises. By late 2023, CanadianKingpin’s ventures fell silent, with their Telegram channels closed and forum posts removed, hinting at a possible exit scam or strategic retreat. There have been no confirmed reports of DarkBard being directly implicated in specific cyberattacks, which could indicate limited distribution or stealthy use.

However, the concept of DarkBard remains highly relevant. The idea of leveraging real-time AI for cybercrime began to materialize in other forms in 2024. For instance, attackers have been observed coupling language models with web-scraping techniques to craft timely phishing emails that reference recent news or corporate announcements. DarkBard’s proposed features align closely with these tactics.

Surveys of security leaders in 2024 revealed growing concerns about AI-powered misinformation and deepfakes targeting enterprises, with 20% of organizations identifying malicious AI by cybercriminals as the single greatest threat on the horizon. While DarkBard itself may not have become the go-to criminal AI, it symbolized the next evolution in cybercrime: integrating live, internet-connected AI into the toolkit of malicious actors.

As we move through 2025, defenders should anticipate phishing and fraud schemes that are dynamically informed by real-world data in near real time — precisely the kind of capability that DarkBard championed.

Conclusion

DarkBard exemplifies the potential dangers of generative AI when wielded by cybercriminals. As we continue this series, we will next explore PoisonGPT, a tool that highlights the darker applications of generative AI for disinformation. Understanding these tools and their implications is essential for organizations aiming to fortify their defenses against the rising tide of AI-driven threats. Stay tuned for our next post, where we will delve into PoisonGPT and its role in the landscape of malicious AI.