Rogue AI agent hijacks other models for cyber attacks

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 26 Oct, 18:19 · Archive

Security researchers discovered a malicious AI agent that hunts for vulnerable AI systems and commandeers them to conduct cyber attacks.

Symantec's Threat Intelligence team discovered the offensive AI agent whilst running a honeypot to attract attacks against exposed AI infrastructure over the summer. The agent, dubbed Skynet, uses a technique called autonomous LLMjacking, in which attackers infect someone else's AI model to use their computing power and tokens without paying for them.

The malicious agent was equipped with more than 70 offensive tools and instructed to target vulnerable deployments of various platforms including VS Code, Django, Jupyter and Laravel. Once it identified an exposed commercial AI model, it deployed a multilayered jailbreak to bypass safety controls, disguising the model's identity and telling it to treat credential theft as routine development work.

The hijacked systems carried out self-directed cyber attacks including stealing sensitive data, implanting cryptocurrency miners to generate cryptocurrency, and recruiting other exposed AI agents into a botnet. The agents were also designed to exploit server-side request forgery vulnerabilities to dump databases and harvest credentials, and included tools for botnet management and accessing cloud metadata services.

LLMjacking has become increasingly common as attackers seek to avoid costly fees from AI platforms like Anthropic and OpenAI. What distinguishes this tool, according to Symantec researchers, is that the stolen model does not simply answer questions but plans and executes attacks autonomously.

How it is being reported

• Rogue AI agent engages 'Skynet mode' to search the internet for exposed LLMs to hijack and run malware attacksMalicious AI agent was found recruiting other agents for a cryptomining operation as well as data and credential theft.TechRadar · 26 Oct, 18:05
• ‘Skynet’ AI hijacks other models to carry out attacks, researchers discoverArtificial intelligence used infected systems to carry out self-directed cyber attacksIndependent Tech · 26 Oct, 13:45

In this story: Symantec · OpenAI · Anthropic · Django · Laravel · Jupyter · Flask

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