🔍 Read the full analysis: One Hacker, A Swarm Of AI Agents, 100+ Company Websites: What Changes When A Break-In Costs About $50 on ThorstenMeyerAI.com
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TL;DR
A Chinese-speaking operator used Cairn, a free, open-source platform for coordinating AI agents, in a campaign that probed more than 1,200 websites and reportedly broke into sites belonging to over 100 companies. Reuters identified companies including Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins; the scale of any data theft is unknown, and campaign cost estimates are uncertain.
A Chinese-speaking operator used the open-source Cairn platform to coordinate AI agents probing online shops, with Reuters reporting that the campaign broke into websites belonging to more than 100 companies. The activity began on September 25 and targeted more than 1,200 sites by mid-October, according to the attackers’ records reviewed by Reuters and NorForge; the amount of data, if any, taken from victims is not known.
NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland found internet-accessible Cairn control panels and monitored their activity. NorForge linked more than 20 exposed panels to likely malicious use, and classified the campaign’s largest activity cluster as AIA0001. The firm counted over 1,100 attack projects across 14 panels in that cluster, aimed largely at the United States, Japan and Australia. Reuters separately reviewed Cairn activity and identified companies whose websites had been targeted.
Reuters named Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins among the affected companies. Deere told Reuters it took “necessary remediation actions” and had no indication that sensitive information was accessed. SharkNinja said an independent product-support site was hit and the threat was contained. Cummins said it was investigating a potential attack on a website operated by a third-party vendor. Two smaller businesses acknowledged compromises to Reuters; others did not respond.
NorForge measured successful AIA0001 projects as taking a little under 23 hours from start to goal, with about 140 recorded facts per project; one lasted more than five days. Fagerland estimated the campaign’s AI expenses at roughly $5,000 overall, or about $50 per successful intrusion. NorForge cautioned that the cost estimate carries considerable uncertainty. Reuters could not establish how much information, 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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Automation Changes the Cost of Persistence
The reported campaign points to a change in how attackers can allocate effort: agents can keep testing sites and passing findings between tasks with less direct attention from an operator. NorForge’s account describes a workflow in which websites were automatically ranked and checked before agents investigated them. That can make sustained, methodical probing cheaper to attempt, although the reported campaign does not establish that every AI-assisted attack will be inexpensive or successful.
For companies, the reported targets also underline that exposure can extend beyond a main corporate website. A product-support site or a website run by a vendor may connect to customer services or business operations. The companies’ public statements differ: Deere reported no indication of sensitive data access, SharkNinja said it contained the threat, and Cummins described its case as under investigation. The public record does not yet show whether the intrusions led to data theft, financial loss or access to other systems.
The volume of automated activity may also add pressure to security teams, which must distinguish genuine incidents from routine alerts. The exposed Cairn panels described by NorForge raise a separate defensive issue: tools intended to coordinate work can themselves become observable or accessible if their dashboards lack authorization. The investigation concerns suspected criminal use; it does not establish that Cairn was built for hacking.
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How Researchers Traced the Campaign
The reporting followed a September investigation by Gambit Security, which recovered a criminal staging server and found three AI “harnesses”—programs that allow models to perform tasks: Hermes, Strix and Cairn. After that report, NorForge searched for internet-visible Cairn dashboards. Fagerland found panels without password protection, although NorForge said most panels it encountered required authorization. The firm identified roughly two dozen panels linked to malicious activity from around October 2, according to Reuters.
NorForge published its report on October 19, 2026, describing three activity clusters but naming no victims. Reuters reported the company names after independently reviewing activity records and contacting organizations. Cairn’s author, who uses the name le1xia0, said the platform was not designed for hacking. NorForge described Cairn more broadly as a state-based problem-solving engine that moves toward a defined goal. Its use in this campaign, as reported, was a particular operator’s activity rather than proof of the platform’s intended purpose.
A separate September report by Gambit Security documented another agent-driven campaign. It said at least 27 companies were compromised and at least 600,000 card records were taken from two of them. That is a separate case and should not be treated as evidence that the Cairn campaign stole payment data.
““Necessary remediation actions” were taken, and the company had “no indication that sensitive information was accessed.””
— Deere, in a statement to Reuters
Data Exposure and Attribution Remain Open
The reporting does not establish how much data, if any, was taken from the companies in the Cairn campaign. Deere said it had no indication that sensitive information was accessed, while Cummins said its investigation was ongoing. Reuters’ account does not quantify any financial losses or confirm whether access persisted after the websites were secured.
The operator’s identity is also unknown. NorForge described the activity as Chinese-language, and the source material characterizes the operator as Chinese-speaking; neither fact establishes nationality or location. No arrest or charge is reported. The roughly $5,000 campaign cost and $50-per-intrusion figure are estimates, not audited spending, and NorForge said uncertainty around the estimate was considerable.
NorForge’s panel counts, project totals and Reuters’ company count come from different parts of the investigation. They describe observed records and identified victims, not a complete measure of every attempted or successful intrusion. The companies’ responses and the researchers’ findings may change as investigations continue.
Company Investigations and Panel Security
The immediate next step is for affected organizations and their vendors to finish investigating the sites, establish whether information was accessed and disclose any confirmed impact. Cummins said it was investigating its potential incident; the available reporting does not give a timetable for findings from the companies or law enforcement.
NorForge’s report and Reuters’ investigation put exposed Cairn control panels under scrutiny. The reporting does not say whether the observed panels have since been secured or whether additional activity clusters will be identified. Further company statements, forensic results or law-enforcement updates could clarify the campaign’s scope, the data involved and the operator’s identity.
Key Questions
What happened in the reported campaign?
A Chinese-speaking operator used Cairn to coordinate AI agents probing online shops. Reuters reported that activity targeted more than 1,200 websites and led to breaches at sites belonging to over 100 companies.
Which companies were named?
Reuters named Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins, along with two smaller businesses that acknowledged compromises. Deere said it had no indication sensitive information was accessed; SharkNinja said it contained the threat, and Cummins said it was investigating a potential attack on a vendor-operated website.
Was customer or payment data stolen?
The reported findings do not establish how much data, if any, was taken in the Cairn campaign. A separate Gambit Security report described stolen card records in another campaign; that incident is not evidence of data theft in this case.
Who was behind the activity?
The operator’s identity is unknown. NorForge described the activity as Chinese-language, but the reporting does not establish the person’s nationality or location. No arrest or charge is reported in the source material.
Was Cairn created as a hacking tool?
No. NorForge described Cairn as a general-purpose, state-based problem-solving engine, and its author said it was not designed for hacking. The reports describe Cairn being used by an operator to coordinate the activity.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
