Cyberattacks | Software security

One Hacker Broke Into 100+ Websites on About $5,000 of AI Tokens

Researchers say a Chinese-speaking operator used cheap AI agents to break into scores of company websites, mostly online stores.

By Content Team

Oct 20, 2026

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A Chinese-speaking hacker used AI agents to break into more than 100 company websites, Reuters reports. NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland estimates the campaign cost about $5,000 in AI tokens, roughly $50 per successful intrusion. From September 25, the agents tried to compromise more than 1 200 sites, mainly online stores in the US, Canada, Australia, and Japan.

The operator used Cairn, an open-source platform that coordinates AI agents, to work through attack chains — SQL injection, file uploads, login bypasses — with minimal hands-on effort. NorForge puts the success rate across the campaigns it observed at around 10% and found no obvious sign of state backing.

Targets included sites linked to Deere, SharkNinja, and Cummins. Deere found no sign of sensitive data being accessed, SharkNinja said the threat to a separate support site was contained, and Cummins was investigating a third-party-run site. How much data was taken, if any, remains unknown.

Source: Cybersecurity News

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