Hacker used AI agents to breach over 100 websites

A Chinese-speaking hacker used autonomous AI agents leveraging DeepSeek and Claude Code to target 1,200 websites and breach over 100 targets, including Deere, SharkNinja, and Cummins. NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland discovered the campaign via misconfigured instances of the Cairn platform, noting the operations cost roughly $50 per successful intrusion. Targeted corporations have initiated containment and investigation efforts as security researchers highlight a rapid escalation in fully autonomous AI-driven cybercrime.

Scope and cost of the campaign

• ▪A Chinese-speaking hacker initiated an AI-driven campaign on September 25, 2026, targeting e-commerce websites across the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan
• ▪A Chinese-speaking hacker used autonomous AI agents to target over 1,200 websites and compromise more than 100, including major corporate domains
• ▪NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland estimated a Chinese-speaking hacker's hacking campaign cost roughly $5,000 in AI tokens, or about $50 per successful intrusion

Technical execution of the AI attack

• ▪A hacking campaign by a Chinese-speaking hacker deployed autonomous AI agents using a mixture of DeepSeek and Anthropic's Claude Code models
• ▪A Chinese-speaking hacker launched autonomous intrusions using instructions written in fewer than 100 Chinese characters
• ▪Successful autonomous intrusions by AI agents typically required about 23 hours of continuous probing for website vulnerabilities
• ▪AI agents observed by NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland located a public-facing control panel via digital records and leveraged a processing weakness through trial and error to execute malicious server commands

Misuse of the Cairn platform

• ▪Cairn developer 'le1xia0' stated on social media platform X that the multi-agent architecture platform was not designed for carrying out harmful cyberattacks
• ▪Snorre Fagerland of NorForge discovered about two dozen instances of the open-source platform Cairn being used for malicious activity around October 2, 2026

Businesses targeted in the campaign

• ▪An AI-driven hacking campaign led by a Chinese-speaking hacker compromised websites belonging to farm equipment maker Deere, home appliance company SharkNinja, and engine manufacturer Cummins
• ▪Two smaller businesses acknowledge being compromised by an AI-driven hacking campaign led by a Chinese-speaking hacker alongside major corporate victims

Responses from affected corporate victims

• ▪SharkNinja confirmed an AI-driven breach by a Chinese-speaking hacker hit a standalone site carrying product support information and stated the threat was contained
• ▪Deere took necessary remediation actions following an AI-driven breach by a Chinese-speaking hacker and stated there was no indication sensitive information was accessed
• ▪Cummins stated it was investigating a potential cyberattack on a website operated by one of its third-party vendors

Other AI cyberattacks reported by Gambit Security

• ▪Gambit Security reported that Russian-speaking extortionists used Cursor AI to break into seven organizations in August 2026
• ▪Gambit Security documented a September 2026 AI agent spree that breached 25 companies and led to the theft of at least 600,000 credit card records