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TL;DR
A Chinese-speaking operator used Cairn, an open-source platform for coordinating AI agents, in a campaign that tried more than 1,200 sites and broke into websites of more than 100 companies, according to Reuters and NorForge. NorForge estimates about $5,000 in AI costs for the campaign, but says that figure is uncertain; the amount of data accessed or taken has not been established.
A Chinese-speaking operator used a swarm of AI agents to probe online shops from September 25 into mid-October, with Reuters reporting break-ins at websites of more than 100 companies. The agents, coordinated through the open-source platform Cairn, tried more than 1,200 sites, according to records reviewed by Reuters and security firm NorForge; the extent of any data theft remains unknown.
NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland found Cairn control panels exposed on the internet and watched activity on them, according to the firm’s report. NorForge identified more than 20 panels it linked to likely malicious use. Its largest activity cluster, which it named AIA0001, used Chinese-language tasks. NorForge counted more than 1,100 attack projects across 14 panels, aimed mainly at the United States, Japan and Australia. Reuters separately reviewed the operator’s Cairn activity and identified victims, including Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins.
The campaign appears to have used automated systems to select e-commerce sites and pass them to AI agents for probing. NorForge measured successful projects in the largest cluster as taking a little under 23 hours from start to goal on average, with about 140 recorded facts per project. One project lasted more than five days. Those figures describe activity recorded in the panels; they do not establish how much information was accessed or removed from any victim.
NorForge estimates the AI costs for the campaign at roughly $5,000 overall, or about $50 per successful intrusion, while warning that the estimate carries considerable uncertainty. 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 cyber-attack” on a website operated by a third-party vendor.
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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Lower Costs, More Automated Probing
The reported campaign points to a change in the cost and scale of cyberattacks: one operator could coordinate numerous agents to conduct prolonged, repetitive probing across many targets. The estimated $50 per successful intrusion is NorForge’s assessment, not a verified accounting of the attacker’s spending or a measure of the damage caused. Still, the activity suggests attackers may be able to spend less human time on each target while increasing the number of sites they examine.
For companies, the reported victim mix also highlights the risk of support sites and third-party systems, not only a company’s main website. A breach at a smaller or less central online property can create investigative and response work even when there is no confirmed access to sensitive information. The reports do not establish whether the campaign led to financial fraud or data resale.
Automated probing may also add pressure to security teams, which must sort genuine incidents from a high volume of alerts. The evidence here comes partly from exposed control panels that gave researchers a view of the operator’s activity. It does not show how often similar campaigns go undetected, or whether AI agents were responsible for every step of the reported intrusions.
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How Researchers Traced Cairn Activity
The reporting followed a separate September investigation by Gambit Security, which recovered a criminal staging server containing three programs that let AI models act on tasks: Hermes, Strix and Cairn. NorForge then searched for exposed dashboards associated with Cairn. Its report says most panels require authorization, but researchers found some without passwords. From around October 2, Fagerland identified roughly two dozen panels he associated with malicious activity, Reuters reported.
NorForge grouped the activity into three clusters and published its report on October 19, the same day Reuters released its investigation. NorForge’s report named no victims. Reuters said it identified companies by independently reviewing activity in the panels and contacting organizations. Two smaller businesses acknowledged compromises, while other contacted victims did not respond, according to the source material.
Cairn is a general-purpose, open-source agent-coordination platform, not a tool designed exclusively for hacking. Its creator, who uses the name le1xia0, told Reuters that Cairn “was not designed for hacking attacks” and that harmful use was not their intention. A separate Gambit Security report in September described another agent-driven campaign involving at least 27 companies; it said at least 600,000 card records were taken from two of them. That was a separate incident and should not be treated as evidence of data theft in the Cairn campaign.
“Most need authorization to access. Most.”
— NorForge report
Data Access and Damage Remain Unknown
Reuters could not establish how much data, if any, was taken in the campaign. The available reporting also does not identify the operator by name or establish that the person was located in China; the description is of a Chinese-speaking actor. No arrest or criminal charge is reported in the source material.
NorForge’s cost figures are estimates, and the firm itself describes their uncertainty as considerable. The reported counts rely on activity visible in the exposed Cairn panels and Reuters’ review of the operator’s records. They do not provide a complete measure of all attempted or successful attacks, nor do they confirm that every apparent compromise resulted in lasting access.
Company statements also differ in what they establish: Deere reported no indication of sensitive information access, SharkNinja said the threat was contained, and Cummins described its incident as a potential attack under investigation. The source material provides no final forensic findings for all affected companies.
Company Investigations and Follow-Up
The immediate next step is for affected organizations to complete investigations into the websites and systems involved, including third-party services. Those findings may clarify whether attackers accessed or copied customer, payment or company information, and whether any foothold remained after remediation. No final investigation timetable is given in the reporting.
Researchers and companies may also continue monitoring exposed Cairn panels and related activity. Further reporting could identify additional affected organizations or establish more about the operator, but neither is confirmed at this stage. The campaign’s cost estimate and attack counts should be treated as reported measurements, not a complete accounting of the activity.
Key Questions
What happened in the reported campaign?
A Chinese-speaking operator used Cairn-coordinated AI agents to probe online shops. Reuters reported that the agents tried more than 1,200 sites and that websites of more than 100 companies were broken into.
Who was behind the attacks?
The operator has not been publicly identified. The reporting describes a Chinese-speaking actor; it does not establish the person’s identity or location.
Was customer or payment data stolen?
It is not known how much data, if any, was taken in this campaign. Deere said it had no indication that sensitive information was accessed; Reuters could not determine the overall amount of data accessed or removed.
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 considerably uncertain; it is not a confirmed accounting of the attacker’s total costs.
Was Cairn built as a hacking tool?
No. Cairn is described as an open-source, general-purpose agent platform. Its creator told Reuters it was not designed for hacking and said harmful use was not their intention.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
