China-Linked Hackers Use AI Agents in Autonomous Attack on Taiwan
Brief
China-linked hackers reportedly used eight AI agents to breach a government network, steal data and compromise accounts with minimal human oversight.
Israeli cybersecurity firm Dream documented what looks like the first fully autonomous, end-to-end AI hacking operation against a government target.
Over four days at the start of July, according to the Financial Times, suspected Chinese hackers ran a tool built entirely from publicly available AI agents that mapped 21 government systems, hunted for vulnerabilities, and switched tactics on its own whenever it hit a wall.
“Suspected Chinese hackers used publicly available AI tools to compromise government websites in Taiwan in a first-of-a-kind breach, highlighting how artificial intelligence is transforming cyber warfare.” reported the Financial Times.
The tool wasn’t a single script running one attack.