Hacker used AI agents to breach over 100 sites for about $5,000

NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland found that a Chinese-speaking hacker outsourced intrusions to autonomous AI agents built on DeepSeek and Claude Code. The agents made over 1,200 break-in attempts and compromised more than 100 sites, including Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins, at a token cost of roughly $5,000.

• Agents made over 1,200 attempts and breached more than 100 sites
• A successful intrusion took about 23 hours and cost roughly $50
• Victims included Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins
• The hacker used a mix of DeepSeek and Claude Code