AI tools help hacker break in for $25 per target
It’s cheap to set yourself up as a hacker these days using AI. Someone attacked 105 online retailers over a period of five days, compromising 27 of them — all for an average of $25 per attack, according to research by Israeli security company Gambit . But the attacks have been going on for much longer. Whoever is responsible used open-source AI harnesses to mount the attack. Gambit has identified…
Using artificial intelligence tools, a hacker managed to breach the defenses of 105 online retailers within a five-day period, successfully compromising 27 of them. The total cost of these attacks averaged $25 per incident, as detailed by Israeli security firm Gambit in their recent research. This breach has been a long-standing issue, with the perpetrator leveraging open-source AI technologies to execute the attacks.
Gambit identified three key AI-driven components: Strix for identifying vulnerabilities, Cairn for executing autonomous exploits, and Hermes to orchestrate the entire campaign. These attacks have proven to be exceptionally profitable, with the theft of 600,000 credit card details from just two businesses, the installation of card skimmer scripts at five additional locations, and access to an unspecified number of major companies.
The efficiency of this operation was remarkable, with most breaches taking only a few hours and incurring minimal expenses. OpenRouter served as the platform for accessing these AI models. On August 25, the cumulative expenditure of the attacker amounted to $7,005 over a four-week span, equating to an average of $25 per attack. Costs varied, ranging from the lowest at $3.13 to the highest at $79.31.
Despite being contacted by Gambit, the affected companies acknowledged the severity of the attacks, underscoring how AI is revolutionizing cybercriminal activities by offering a sophisticated level of operation that would be difficult for humans to replicate. Gambit has warned that more such attacks can be anticipated in the future.
Written by urgent.news from Computerworld's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
