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TL;DR
Reuters, citing the attacker’s own Cairn records, reports that an unidentified Chinese-speaking operator used AI agents to probe more than 1,200 websites from late September to mid-October and broke into sites associated with more than 100 companies. NorForge observed exposed Cairn control panels and estimated the campaign’s AI costs at about $5,000, while stressing that the estimate carries considerable uncertainty. The amount of data accessed or taken has not been established.
An unidentified Chinese-speaking operator used AI agents running on the open-source platform Cairn to probe online shops from September 25 through mid-October, with Reuters reporting break-ins at websites associated with more than 100 companies. The reported victims include Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins; the scale of any data access or theft remains unknown.
According to Reuters, the operator’s records show the agents tried more than 1,200 websites in the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan. NorForge, the security firm whose researcher tracked exposed Cairn dashboards, identified more than 20 panels it linked to likely malicious activity. Its report, published October 19, grouped activity into three clusters and described the largest as AIA0001.
NorForge counted more than 1,100 attack projects across 14 panels in that cluster. The firm said the projects were aimed largely at the United States, Japan and Australia and appeared intended to establish persistent access to e-commerce or payment infrastructure for possible later monetization. Reuters separately reviewed the operator’s Cairn activity and identified companies it said had been affected. Two smaller businesses acknowledged compromises; other companies did not respond to Reuters.
Companies contacted by Reuters gave different accounts. Deere said it took “necessary remediation actions” and had no indication 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 operated by a third-party vendor. Reuters could not establish how much data, if any, was taken.
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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Automated Probing Tests Defenses
The reported campaign shows how an operator can delegate repeated website probing to software rather than personally carrying out each step. NorForge measured successful projects in the largest cluster as taking a little under 23 hours from start to goal, with about 140 recorded facts per project. One project ran for more than five days. That does not mean every attempt succeeded; it indicates that the system could continue working over extended periods with limited direct attention.
NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland estimated the campaign’s AI expenses at roughly $5,000 in total, or about $50 per successful hack. The firm explicitly cautioned that the uncertainty around the estimate was considerable. The figure is a researcher’s estimate, not a verified accounting of the operator’s costs, and it does not measure the wider expense or harm associated with the intrusions.
For organizations, the reporting draws attention to less prominent web properties, including support pages and sites run by vendors. A breach of a standalone or third-party site can still create security and investigation work, even when a company says it has no indication sensitive data was accessed. The reports do not establish that the affected sites contained payment data or that attackers used access to make purchases.
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How Cairn Panels Were Found
The investigation began after Gambit Security reported a separate agent-driven campaign in September. That firm said it recovered a criminal staging server containing three programs that let AI models carry out tasks: Hermes, Strix and Cairn. In a separate report, Gambit described at least 27 companies compromised and at least 600,000 card records taken from two of them. That is a distinct campaign; the records should not be attributed to the later activity Reuters and NorForge examined.
NorForge then searched for internet-accessible Cairn dashboards. Fagerland found panels without password protection, although the firm said most dashboards it encountered required authorization. From around October 2, he identified about two dozen panels that he associated with malicious activity. New panels continued to appear, and NorForge published its analysis on October 19, the same day Reuters released its investigation.
Cairn is an open-source agent platform, not a hacking tool by design, according to NorForge and its creator. Agents can share information and planned steps through a common state board, allowing work to continue across tasks. Cairn’s author, who uses the name le1xia0, told Reuters the platform was not designed for hacking and that harmful use was not their intention. The distinction matters: the reported activity concerns how an operator used the software, not proof that the platform itself was created for cyberattacks.
““Necessary remediation actions””
— Deere, in a statement to Reuters
Data Access and Attribution Remain Unknown
The reporting does not identify the operator by name, establish their location or confirm who directed the campaign. NorForge describes the actor as Chinese-speaking; that detail does not, by itself, establish nationality or state involvement. No arrest or charge is reported in the source material.
It also remains unclear what information, if any, attackers accessed or copied from the affected websites. Deere said it had no indication sensitive information was accessed, while SharkNinja said it contained the threat; those statements do not resolve what happened across all reported victims. Reuters could not determine the amount of data taken, and some companies did not respond. NorForge’s cost estimate and its interpretation of the operator’s likely objective are assessments, not independently confirmed facts.
Companies Continue Their Reviews
The next developments depend on investigations by the affected companies and their vendors, along with any further reporting that verifies what systems were reached and whether data was accessed. Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins gave Reuters statements about their responses, but the source material does not provide a timetable for completing their reviews or for releasing additional findings.
NorForge’s publication of the exposed-panel findings gives security teams information to investigate their own internet-facing systems and access controls. The reports do not say whether the operator’s panels remain active or whether the activity has stopped. Further confirmation of the campaign’s scope, the operator’s identity and any downstream use of access has not been reported.
Key Questions
What did the operator use Cairn to do?
Reuters reports that an unidentified Chinese-speaking operator used Cairn agents to probe online shops. The agents tried more than 1,200 websites, and Reuters reported break-ins at sites associated with more than 100 companies.
Which companies were named in the reporting?
Reuters named Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins among the companies whose websites were affected. Their statements described different responses, and the reported information does not establish that sensitive data was taken from them.
How much data was stolen?
That has not been established. Reuters could not determine how much data, if any, was taken. Deere said it had no indication sensitive information was accessed; the available reporting does not settle the question for all affected sites.
Was Cairn built as a hacking tool?
The source material describes Cairn as an open-source agent platform. Its creator said it was not designed for hacking attacks and that harmful use was not their intention. The reporting concerns its alleged use by an operator, not proof that the platform was created for cybercrime.
Who was behind the campaign?
The operator has not been publicly identified in the reporting. NorForge described the actor as Chinese-speaking, but that does not confirm the person’s nationality, location or affiliation. No arrest or charge is reported.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
