China Internet Finance Association: OpenClaw Has Four Major Risks in Internet Finance Industry Applications

(Source: Beijing Business Today)

Beijing Business Today News (Reporter Liao Meng) — On March 15, the China Internet Finance Association issued a risk warning regarding the safe application of OpenClaw in the internet finance industry. The open-source AI agent OpenClaw (“Lobster”) continues to see rising popularity in downloads and usage. This AI agent typically defaults to high system permissions, allowing it to directly control computers and other devices based on natural language commands. Currently, the online and digital transformation of the internet finance industry involves handling highly sensitive information such as customer funds, assets, accounts, and personal financial data. While OpenClaw can improve work efficiency, its default high system permissions and weak security configurations make it vulnerable to attacks, potentially becoming a breach point for data theft or illegal transaction manipulation, posing serious industry risks.

The China Internet Finance Association pointed out that the risks of OpenClaw mainly manifest in four areas. First, the risk of financial loss. OpenClaw has publicly disclosed multiple medium- and high-risk vulnerabilities, which attackers can exploit or use prompt injection techniques to gain control of devices. Additionally, its commonly used functional plugins (Skills) lack effective community security review mechanisms, and there have been several malicious plugin poisoning incidents. In financial scenarios, these risks could be exploited to steal sensitive information such as online banking passwords, payment keys, and securities trading API credentials, leading to unauthorized access to online banking and securities systems and resulting in customer fund losses.

Second, the risk of transaction liability. OpenClaw AI agents have the ability to autonomously perform multi-step operations, and some users have employed them for stock monitoring and investment strategy backtesting. Automated execution may lead to misoperations such as fund transfers and purchase of investment products, causing actual financial losses. Currently, AI technology does not have complete explainability, making it difficult to determine liability for automated financial transactions, and legal responsibilities are uncertain.

Third, data compliance risks. OpenClaw AI agents have persistent memory functions, and data generated during operation are continuously stored in local session records and memory files. When calling large model API interfaces or performing other operations, relevant data may be transmitted to third parties. In internet finance scenarios, involving highly sensitive data such as credit reports, loan approval materials, and transaction records, this data entering the AI processing chain could exceed the necessary scope for the original business purpose, raising compliance risks in financial data management.

Fourth, new scam risks. Malicious actors may conduct investment scams using phrases like “AI stock trading” or “guaranteed profit,” and exploit the popularity of “Lobster” to mass-produce false information impersonating financial institutions, tricking the public into downloading fake apps or transferring funds to designated accounts. Additionally, scammers may pose as technicians for “installation assistance” or “remote debugging” to gain control of consumers’ devices, planting malicious programs or stealing sensitive financial information.

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