Hacker uses AI agents to breach more than 100 company websites

A Chinese-speaking hacker used AI agents to gain unauthorized access to more than 100 company websites, including sites belonging to Deere and SharkNinja. NorForge principal threat researcher Snorre Fagerland observed the activity while monitoring inadvertently exposed instances of Carin, an open-source AI-powered problem-solving platform used by multiple hackers.

The hacker targeted businesses in the United States, Canada and Australia, along with Japanese e-commerce sites. Using instructions comprising fewer than 100 Chinese characters, the hacker directed agents that had attempted to breach more than 1,200 different websites as of the week ending October 18, 2026. The agents could operate without continued supervision, allowing their operator to focus elsewhere.

In a particularly sophisticated example, agents searched digital records for infrastructure linked to a target, found a publicly accessible control panel, identified a vulnerability and exploited it to execute malicious commands. SharkNinja said the attack affected only a website providing product support information. Among the other hackers Fagerland monitored, one stole credit card data, while another attempted to steal from a cryptocurrency exchange; the outcome of that attempt was unclear.