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TL;DR
A Chinese-speaking operator used Cairn, a free, open-source AI-agent platform, to probe online shops from late September through mid-October, according to NorForge and Reuters. Reuters identified breaches involving websites of more than 100 companies; NorForge estimated the campaign cost about $5,000, but said the figure carries considerable uncertainty. It remains unclear how much data, if any, was taken.
An unidentified Chinese-speaking operator used a swarm of AI agents to probe more than 1,200 online shops and break into websites belonging to more than 100 companies, according to records reviewed by Reuters and security firm NorForge. The activity, which began on September 25, shows how one operator can use software agents to carry out lengthy, repeated cyber intrusions, while the amount of information accessed or taken remains unknown.
The agents were coordinated through Cairn, a free, open-source platform for running AI agents. NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland found internet-accessible Cairn control panels, including some without passwords, and observed their activity. NorForge linked more than 20 panels to likely malicious use. Its report, published October 19, grouped the activity into three clusters.
Reuters identified companies by reviewing activity recorded in the attacker’s Cairn system and contacting potential victims. The companies named include Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins. Deere told Reuters it took “necessary remediation actions” and had “no indication that sensitive information was accessed.” SharkNinja said a standalone product-support site was affected and the threat was contained. Cummins said it was investigating a potential attack on a website run by a third-party vendor.
NorForge counted more than 1,100 attack projects across 14 panels in the largest cluster, which it calls AIA0001. Reuters reported that the broader campaign tried more than 1,200 sites by mid-October. NorForge measured successful projects as taking a little under 23 hours on average and estimated AI costs at roughly $5,000 for the campaign, or about $50 per successful intrusion. The firm said the cost estimate has “considerable” uncertainty.
One operator, a swarm of agents
The campaign in numbers
What the researcher and Reuters report about the busiest group NorForge found. Counts come from the attackers’ own exposed panels; cost and success figures are estimates.
The price tag estimates
NorForge / Fagerland, “uncertainty considerable”
- ~$5 per task on average, including tasks that fail early
- $100+ for long projects with more than 1,000 intents and facts
- ~$5,000 in AI costs for the campaign, about $50 per successful hack
- ~10% success rate, NorForge’s “reasonable assumption”
How the swarm runs
Simplified, no attack details
- Shop websites are ranked by traffic and checked automatically in a browser
- Each target becomes a Cairn project: a starting point and a goal
- Agents post facts and next steps on a shared board and build on each other
- Goal: a hidden way back in to shop and payment systems, for later
- 22 SepGambit reportGambitCairn found among three AI harnesses on a criminal’s staging server (separate campaign)
- 25 SepCampaign startsReutersA Chinese-speaking operator turns agents on shops in the US, Canada, Australia and Japan
- ≈ 2 OctOpen panels foundReutersFagerland starts finding Cairn panels in malicious use, about two dozen
- mid-Oct1,200+ sites triedReutersBreaks into websites of 100+ companies, incl. Deere, SharkNinja, Cummins
- 19 OctReport and investigationNorForge · ReutersNorForge publishes “Inside Cairn”; Reuters publishes its investigation
Sources: NorForge, Inside Cairn (19 Oct 2026); Reuters (19 Oct 2026); Gambit Security (22 Sep 2026). Numbers as published, same rounding as the article.
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Why Automated Intrusions Matter
The campaign’s reported scale matters because it suggests an attacker can assign software agents the repetitive work of checking websites and pursuing access, rather than personally directing every step. More probing at lower operator effort could leave organizations facing many attempts across their web infrastructure, including sites that receive less attention than core systems.
The estimated cost is not a verified price for a typical breach. NorForge’s estimate covers this campaign and is expressly uncertain; it should not be treated as a general measure of hacking costs. Even so, the report raises a practical security concern: if automated attempts are inexpensive enough to repeat, defenders may have to investigate more alerts and potential compromises with limited time and staff.
The reported targets also point to risk beyond a company’s main website. Reuters’ reporting included a standalone support site and a site operated by a vendor. Third-party and auxiliary websites can be connected to a company’s operations or customer relationships, but the available reporting does not establish that these incidents exposed sensitive company or customer data.
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How Cairn Entered the Picture
The reporting followed a separate September investigation by Gambit Security. That firm said it recovered a criminal staging server containing three “AI harnesses”—programs that allow AI models to act through sequences of tasks—including Cairn, Hermes and Strix. NorForge then searched for publicly exposed Cairn dashboards and found panels it associated with suspicious activity.
Cairn is a general-purpose agent platform, not, according to its creator, a tool designed specifically for cyberattacks. Its author, who uses the name le1xia0, told Reuters that harmful use was not the intention. NorForge describes the software as a system that works through steps toward a defined goal. In the activity it observed, agents recorded findings and proposed next actions on a shared workspace, allowing later agents to build on earlier work.
The September campaign reported by Gambit is separate from the activity Reuters and NorForge described. Gambit said that campaign compromised at least 27 companies and took at least 600,000 card records from two of them. Those figures do not establish that payment-card data was taken in the Cairn campaign covered here.
““Necessary remediation actions” were taken, and the company had “no indication that sensitive information was accessed.””
— Deere, in a statement to Reuters
What Investigators Still Do Not Know
The reporting does not establish how much data, if any, was accessed or removed. Reuters said it could not determine the amount, and the company statements offer only limited information about individual sites. Deere reported no indication of sensitive information access; that statement does not resolve what happened at other targets.
The operator’s identity is also unknown. NorForge described the actor as Chinese-speaking, but that does not by itself establish the person’s nationality or location. The source material reports no arrest or criminal charge. NorForge’s cost estimate and its assessment of the campaign’s intended purpose are estimates or analysis, not independently confirmed facts about the operator’s plans.
The count of affected companies comes from Reuters’ review of attacker records and its outreach to potential victims; NorForge’s published report did not name victims. Some contacted organizations did not respond, and the reporting does not provide a complete account of every site’s status or the extent of any remediation.
Company Reviews and Security Checks
The immediate next step is for affected companies and their vendors to complete investigations, determine whether information was accessed, and disclose any material findings. The available reports do not provide a timeline for those inquiries or announce a final accounting of affected organizations.
Security teams will also be watching for exposed agent-control panels and reviewing whether support, vendor and other secondary websites have appropriate access controls and monitoring. NorForge’s findings show that some Cairn dashboards were reachable without passwords, but the reports do not say how many such panels remain exposed or whether platform changes have followed.
Further reporting may clarify the operator’s identity, the full list of affected organizations, and whether the campaign resulted in data theft or later misuse of access. Until then, the confirmed picture is of broad, automated probing and reported website intrusions—not a verified tally of stolen information.
Key Questions
What did the AI agents do?
According to Reuters and NorForge, agents coordinated through Cairn probed online shops and broke into websites at more than 100 companies. Reuters reported that the campaign tried more than 1,200 sites.Who operated the campaign?
The operator has not been identified. NorForge described the actor as Chinese-speaking; that description does not confirm the person’s nationality or location.Was sensitive data stolen?
That remains unclear. Reuters could not establish how much data, if any, was taken. Deere said it had no indication that sensitive information was accessed; the reports do not establish the outcome for every target.How much did the campaign cost?
NorForge estimated roughly $5,000 in AI costs for the campaign, or about $50 per successful intrusion. The firm described the estimate as carrying considerable uncertainty, so it is not a verified or general cost figure.Was Cairn built for hacking?
Cairn is an open-source platform for coordinating AI agents. Its author told Reuters it was not designed for hacking attacks and said harmful use was not the author’s intention.Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
