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TL;DR
Reuters, citing attacker activity records reviewed alongside research by NorForge, reported that an operator used Cairn AI agents to probe more than 1,200 websites and break into websites belonging to more than 100 companies. A NorForge researcher estimated the campaign’s AI costs at about $5,000, or roughly $50 per successful intrusion, but the estimate is uncertain and the amount of data accessed remains unknown.
A Chinese-speaking operator used AI agents running on the open-source Cairn platform to probe more than 1,200 websites and break into websites belonging to more than 100 companies, Reuters reported, based on the operator’s activity records and its own reporting. NorForge, the security firm whose researcher monitored exposed Cairn dashboards, estimated the campaign’s AI costs at about $5,000—roughly $50 per successful intrusion—while the amount of data accessed remains unknown.
The campaign began around September 25 and targeted online shops in the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan, according to the source report. NorForge researcher Snorre Fagerland found Cairn control panels exposed on the internet and monitored activity on them. NorForge identified more than 20 panels it linked to likely malicious use; Reuters later reported that the largest activity cluster had tried more than 1,200 sites by mid-October.
Reuters identified websites associated with Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins among those affected. Deere told Reuters it had taken “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. Reuters said it could not establish how much data, if any, was taken.
NorForge measured successful projects in the largest cluster as taking a little under 23 hours from start to goal, on average according to its report, and estimated total AI costs at about $5,000. The roughly $50-per-intrusion figure is an estimate, not a confirmed bill: NorForge described the uncertainty as considerable. Reuters also reported that two smaller businesses acknowledged being compromised; other contacted victims did not respond.
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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Low-Cost Automation Raises the Stakes
The reported campaign shows how an operator can use automated agents to sustain probing across many websites without personally carrying out every step. The cost estimate suggests that, in this case, the AI portion of the operation may have been relatively low compared with the scale of targets. It does not establish the total cost of the campaign, the attacker’s profits, or whether every intrusion led to useful access.
For companies, the reported victim accounts point to a challenge beyond a primary online store: support sites and third-party vendor websites can also provide routes into an organization’s digital services. Automated activity may increase the volume and speed of probing defenders must review. NorForge’s findings also raise practical questions about how exposed agent dashboards are secured and monitored. These are implications of the reported activity, not proof that AI agents alone caused each successful breach.
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How Cairn Entered the Investigation
The investigation followed a separate report published in September by Gambit Security. That firm said it recovered a criminal staging server containing three AI agent frameworks, including Cairn. NorForge then searched for Cairn dashboards exposed online. Its report says that most panels require authorization, but Fagerland found some that did not. From around October 2, he identified roughly two dozen panels associated with malicious activity, according to the source account.
NorForge grouped observed activity into three clusters and published its report on October 19, the same day Reuters published its investigation. NorForge’s report named no victims; Reuters said it independently reviewed the activity recorded on Cairn and contacted organizations. The two reports provide different kinds of evidence: NorForge monitored exposed dashboards, while Reuters reported victim identities and company responses.
Cairn is an open-source agent platform, not a tool NorForge describes as built solely for cyberattacks. Its author, who uses the name le1xia0, told Reuters that Cairn was not designed for hacking and that harmful use was not the author’s intention. A separate September campaign documented by Gambit Security involved at least 27 companies and, according to that firm, at least 600,000 payment-card records taken from two of them. That is a distinct campaign and should not be treated as evidence of data theft in the Cairn activity Reuters reported.
““Most need authorization to access. Most.””
— NorForge report
Data Access and Costs Remain Unclear
The amount of data accessed or taken has not been established in the reporting. Deere said it had no indication sensitive information was accessed, while Cummins described an investigation into a potential attack and SharkNinja said the threat was contained. Those statements do not establish whether information was taken from other affected websites. Reuters said it could not determine how much data, if any, was removed.
The $5,000 campaign cost and roughly $50 per successful intrusion are NorForge’s estimates, with considerable uncertainty. The source material does not identify the operator, report an arrest or charge, or establish whether the activity produced financial returns. Reuters described the operator as Chinese-speaking; that does not establish the person’s identity or location. The source also does not specify how many of the more than 100 company websites involved confirmed data theft, as distinct from a successful intrusion.
Company Inquiries and Exposure Checks Continue
Companies contacted by Reuters may provide further information as investigations progress, particularly about what systems were accessed and whether data was exposed. Cummins said it was investigating the incident involving a vendor-operated website; SharkNinja said the threat had been contained. The source material does not give a public timetable for additional findings or identify a next court or law-enforcement milestone.
NorForge’s report describes clusters of activity on exposed Cairn panels, while the attacker’s identity and the campaign’s eventual purpose remain unconfirmed. The clearest next developments would be verified disclosures from affected organizations, updates on their investigations, or new evidence establishing the scale and consequences of access. Until then, the number of affected company websites is reported, but the full data impact and financial outcome remain unresolved.
Key Questions
What happened in the reported campaign?
Reuters reported that a Chinese-speaking operator used agents on the Cairn platform to probe more than 1,200 websites and break into websites belonging to more than 100 companies. Reuters and NorForge based their reporting on activity records and observations of exposed control panels.
Was the operator identified or arrested?
No. The source material describes the operator as Chinese-speaking, but does not identify the person or report an arrest or charge. Language alone does not establish identity or location.
Were customer or payment details stolen?
The amount of data accessed or taken in the Cairn campaign is not established. Reuters said it could not determine how much data, if any, was removed. A separate campaign described by Gambit Security involved payment-card records, but that is not evidence of theft in this case.
How reliable is the $50-per-intrusion figure?
It is a NorForge estimate based on an estimated campaign cost of about $5,000 and the reported successful intrusions. NorForge described the uncertainty as considerable, so the figure should not be read as a confirmed cost or a measure of total attacker spending.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
