{
  "id": 15747463,
  "title": "Chinese hacker hits over 100 company websites using AI agents — Deere and SharkNinja among top brands affected in attack",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/chinese-hacker-hits-over-100-company-websites-using-ai-agents-deere",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-20T13:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechRadar",
    "slug": "techradar",
    "url": "https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/chinese-hacker-hits-over-100-company-websites-using-ai-agents-deere-and-sharkninja-among-top-brands-affected-in-attack"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Chinese hacker utilized AI agents to compromise over 100 company websites in less than a month, highlighting the potential for rapid, inexpensive cyber attacks fueled by artificial intelligence. The operation, conducted by a single individual, relied on AI agents paid around $5,000 in tokens. Cybersecurity researcher Snorre Fagerland discovered the illicit activities after identifying several Cairn installations, an open-source AI problem-solving engine. Cairn empowers autonomous agents to address complex tasks, ranging from SQL injection and file uploads to unsafe handling of stored objects. The attacker's objective was to establish persistent access to payment systems for potential financial theft. The AI agents, likely employing Claude Code and DeepSeek models, conducted brief interactions with websites, averaging 23 hours before either breaching the system or moving on. Over the course of the campaign, the hacker attempted to infiltrate more than 1,200 sites, with approximately 100 breaches resulting in payment of $50 in tokens per successful attack. Affected companies include Deere, a farm equipment manufacturer, SharkNinja, a home appliance company, and Cummins, an engine manufacturer, as well as two smaller businesses. Deere, SharkNinja, and Cummins reported taking necessary remediation measures, with no indication of sensitive information being accessed. The researcher found hundreds of exposed secrets in open panels and is collaborating with Reuters to inform victims. Experts advise business owners to patch public-facing applications, restrict access to admin panels, and monitor unexpected files in web directories to mitigate the risks posed by AI-powered attacks.",
  "summary": "It seems the goal was to establish persistence and possibly steal money down the line.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}