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TL;DR
Reuters, citing records from an attacker’s exposed Cairn control panels and its own reporting, says an AI-agent campaign tried more than 1,200 sites and broke into websites belonging to more than 100 companies. NorForge estimates the operation cost about $5,000, but the figure is uncertain; the amount of data accessed or taken has not been established.
An unidentified Chinese-speaking operator used the open-source Cairn platform to coordinate AI agents that targeted online shops from late September, with Reuters reporting break-ins at websites of more than 100 companies. The campaign shows how automated agents can sustain lengthy, multi-site attacks, though the amount of information accessed or taken remains unknown.
According to Reuters and security firm NorForge, the agents began probing sites on September 25 and had tried more than 1,200 websites by mid-October. Reuters identified more than 100 company websites as breached by independently reviewing records in the operator’s Cairn activity and contacting organizations. The targets included sites associated with Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins. NorForge’s report, published October 19, described the activity but did not name victims.
NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland found internet-accessible Cairn dashboards, some without passwords, while searching for exposed agent control panels. The firm said it identified more than 20 panels it linked to likely malicious activity and grouped observed activity into three clusters. Its largest cluster, labeled AIA0001, used Chinese-language tasks. NorForge counted more than 1,100 attack projects across 14 panels in that cluster; this figure is a count of projects, not a confirmed count of successful intrusions.
NorForge measured successful AIA0001 projects as taking a little under 23 hours from start to goal, with about 140 recorded facts per project. It estimated the campaign’s AI expenses at roughly $5,000, or around $50 per successful hack, while warning that the estimate had considerable uncertainty. Those are the firm’s estimates, not independently established costs.
One operator, a swarm of agents
The campaign in numbers
What the researcher and Reuters report about the busiest group NorForge found. Counts come from the attackers’ own exposed panels; cost and success figures are estimates.
The price tag estimates
NorForge / Fagerland, “uncertainty considerable”
- ~$5 per task on average, including tasks that fail early
- $100+ for long projects with more than 1,000 intents and facts
- ~$5,000 in AI costs for the campaign, about $50 per successful hack
- ~10% success rate, NorForge’s “reasonable assumption”
How the swarm runs
Simplified, no attack details
- Shop websites are ranked by traffic and checked automatically in a browser
- Each target becomes a Cairn project: a starting point and a goal
- Agents post facts and next steps on a shared board and build on each other
- Goal: a hidden way back in to shop and payment systems, for later
- 22 SepGambit reportGambitCairn found among three AI harnesses on a criminal’s staging server (separate campaign)
- 25 SepCampaign startsReutersA Chinese-speaking operator turns agents on shops in the US, Canada, Australia and Japan
- ≈ 2 OctOpen panels foundReutersFagerland starts finding Cairn panels in malicious use, about two dozen
- mid-Oct1,200+ sites triedReutersBreaks into websites of 100+ companies, incl. Deere, SharkNinja, Cummins
- 19 OctReport and investigationNorForge · ReutersNorForge publishes “Inside Cairn”; Reuters publishes its investigation
Sources: NorForge, Inside Cairn (19 Oct 2026); Reuters (19 Oct 2026); Gambit Security (22 Sep 2026). Numbers as published, same rounding as the article.
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How Agents Change Attack Economics
The reported campaign matters because agents can carry out repeated investigative steps with less ongoing attention from an operator. Cairn lets agents share findings and planned actions on a common board, allowing one task to build on another. NorForge’s observed project timelines suggest an attack can continue for many hours, but the firm’s cost estimate is uncertain and should not be treated as a reliable price for future intrusions.
The case also puts attention on less prominent web properties, including product-support pages and sites run by third-party vendors. A breach of a smaller or separate site can still create work for a major company and raise questions about what systems or information were exposed. Organizations named in reporting have described different responses, and the available evidence does not establish that sensitive customer or payment information was taken in this campaign.
For defenders, agent activity may produce many attempts to review, while the identity and access rights of automated tools create their own security questions. These are implications of the reported operation, not proof that AI agents make every attack cheaper or more successful. The actual costs, access gained and outcomes can vary by target.
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Exposed Cairn Panels Revealed Activity
The investigation followed a separate September report by Gambit Security. After recovering a criminal staging server, that firm reported finding three AI harnesses—Hermes, Strix and Cairn—on the system. Gambit described a separate agent-driven campaign involving at least 27 companies and at least 600,000 card records taken from two of them. That earlier report concerns a different campaign; its findings should not be attributed to the operation Reuters and NorForge examined.
NorForge searched for exposed dashboards used to coordinate Cairn agents and began identifying panels it associated with malicious activity around October 2. The dashboards allowed researchers to observe project records. Reuters then reviewed the attacker’s Cairn activity independently and contacted companies to identify potential victims. Reuters published its investigation on October 19, the same day NorForge released its report.
Cairn is an open-source, general-purpose agent platform, not software NorForge characterized as exclusively designed for hacking. Its author, who uses the name le1xia0, told Reuters that Cairn was not designed for hacking attacks and that harmful use was not the author’s intention. The observed operation’s use of the platform does not establish that its creator participated in or approved the campaign.
“Most need authorization to access. Most.”
— NorForge report
Data Access and Costs Remain Unclear
How much data, if any, was taken has not been established. Reuters could not determine the amount of data accessed or removed. Deere told Reuters it had no indication sensitive information was accessed; SharkNinja said a standalone product-support site was affected and the threat was contained. Cummins said it was investigating a potential attack on a third-party vendor’s website. These statements do not establish that all affected organizations experienced the same kind of access or impact.
The operator’s identity is also unknown. The available reporting describes the operator as Chinese-speaking, but does not identify a person or establish their location. The source material reports no arrest or criminal charge. NorForge’s estimated AI spending and its count of successful projects are based on its analysis of available activity records; the firm itself cautioned that the cost estimate was considerably uncertain.
Investigations and Remediation Continue
Companies named in the reporting may continue reviewing affected sites, vendor relationships and available logs to establish what access occurred. Cummins said it was investigating, while Deere and SharkNinja described response steps to Reuters. The reporting does not give a common timetable for those reviews or say when findings will be complete.
Security researchers and organizations will also be watching for further exposed agent-control panels and related activity. NorForge’s report documented multiple clusters, but the available material does not establish whether the same operator, tools or targets will be involved in future activity. Any clearer account of data exposure, attribution or total impact depends on evidence from ongoing company investigations and further reporting.
Key Questions
What happened in the reported campaign?
Reuters and NorForge reported that an unidentified Chinese-speaking operator coordinated Cairn AI agents to probe more than 1,200 websites. Reuters identified breaches at websites linked to more than 100 companies based on its review of the operator’s activity records and contact with organizations.
Who was behind the operation?
The operator has not been identified. Reporting describes the actor as Chinese-speaking, but does not establish a name, location or other attribution. The available source material reports no arrest or charge.
Was sensitive information stolen?
That has not been established. Reuters could not determine how much data, if any, was taken. Deere said it had no indication that sensitive information was accessed; the statements about other organizations describe their own investigations and responses.
How much did the campaign cost?
NorForge estimated roughly $5,000 in AI costs for the campaign, or about $50 per successful hack. The firm described the estimate as considerably uncertain, so it is not a verified accounting of the operator’s total expenses.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
