Attackers turn to AI for help identifying files worth stealing
Gambit Security documents three threat actors using AI: a ransomware operator with Claude Code, credential harvester Zerofot, and the AI-built RAGE cryptomining framework.
Gambit Security examined three unrelated threat actors using AI across different stages of intrusions. A suspected operator tied to The Gentlemen ransomware-as-a-service used Claude Code running Claude Sonnet 4.6 in late June 2026 at six organizations, including an Australian energy utility, where it ran reconnaissance, ranked valuable databases, staged SQL Server dumps for exfiltration, and modified firewall configurations, accidentally taking one utility firewall offline. The Zerofot credential-harvesting operation, built with OpenAI Codex and Claude Code, collected 2,975 validated credentials from 1,742 hosts between April 5 and May 23, 2026, including SSH private keys and AWS access keys. The AI-generated RAGE Python framework exploits exposed Redis, Elasticsearch, Docker, Tomcat, and other services to harvest credentials and deploy cryptominers, guided at runtime by a DeepSeek-backed AI Orchestrator.
- Ransomware operator hit an Australian energy utility and firms across six sectors
- Claude ranked victim databases and exfiltrated a production database dump
- Claude took an Australian utility firewall offline after failed API edits
- Zerofot harvested SSH, AWS, Gemini, OpenAI, GitHub, and Anthropic credentials
- RAGE targets Redis, Elasticsearch, Docker, Tomcat, Jenkins, Hadoop YARN, Confluence
- ATT&CK
- T1190 Exploit Public-Facing ApplicationT1110 Brute ForceT1552.001 Credentials In FilesT1552.005 Cloud Instance Metadata APIT1496 Resource Hijacking
- Tags
- ai-assisted-attacksclaude-codecredential-harvestingcryptominingrageransomwarethe-gentlemenzerofot
- Vendors
- Gambit Security
- Threat actors
- The GentlemenZerofot
- Countries
- Australia
- AI models
- Claude Sonnet 4.6DeepSeek
From the original article
3 min read at helpnetsecurity.com
AI tools are being used by cyber attackers to write malicious code, build tools that harvest credentials , search compromised networks, identify valuable business information, manage technical infrastructure and generate commands during intrusions. Gambit Security researchers examined three unrelated threat actors that show how AI can support different stages of a cyberattack.
By @helpnetsecurity · helpnetsecurity.com
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