Attacker stole a METR API key, used $600K worth of credits, and no one noticed for weeks
Attackers stole a METR API key via an exposed agent-run EC2 instance and consumed about $600,000 in public model credits over three weeks.
AI evaluation nonprofit METR disclosed two incidents. In March 2026, a fail-open bug in a vibe-coded app disabled authentication on a publicly accessible EC2 instance; an attacker prompted the running agent to reveal a model provider API key, added an SSH key for persistence, and consumed roughly $600,000 in free public-model credits over three weeks without being noticed. In May 2026, attackers probed METR's public infrastructure using agents, automated vulnerability discovery, credential stuffing, OAuth token attempts, and phishing; a separately exposed read-only SQL mechanism found by a bug bounty hunter risked leaking unpublished evaluation data, but no access to non-public data was confirmed.
Attackers Steal METR API Key and Consume AI Credits Worth About $600,000
METR disclosed attackers stole an API key and burned about $600,000 in inference credits, plus a second probing campaign against its infrastructure.
METR, the AI model evaluation non-profit, disclosed two 2026 security incidents. In March, attackers found a publicly exposed EC2 instance behind a fail-open authentication bug, prompted an agent to reveal its API key, added SSH persistence, and consumed roughly $600,000 in inference credits over three weeks. In May, a likely financially motivated actor systematically probed METR's public infrastructure using agents for vulnerability discovery, credential stuffing, OAuth token grants and staff phishing, with no confirmed access to non-public data.
Attacker Hijacks AI Coding Assistant Session, Spreads Shai-Hulud Across About 100 Repositories
Mandiant says an attacker hijacked an AI coding-assistant session at a SaaS provider and spread the Shai-Hulud worm across roughly 100 repositories, stealing secrets.
Mandiant's September 2026 report describes an attacker hijacking an active AI coding-assistant session at an unnamed SaaS provider, then getting a poisoned package recommendation accepted and installing an infostealer via a malicious PyPI package. The attacker stole GitHub OAuth tokens, deployed the self-spreading Shai-Hulud worm across approximately 100 internal repositories, and stole repository secrets and product source code. Poisoning a package in the company's official namespace caused a second employee to pull the compromised version and become infected. Mandiant recommends verifying AI-recommended dependencies against checksums and allowlists, keeping secrets out of extension reach, and routing dependency traffic through internal repositories.
KlueセキュリティインシデントとRecorded Futureへの影響
Recorded Future disclosed a Klue incident that exposed some Salesforce business data, including contacts and emails, via a compromised OAuth token.
Recorded Future disclosed that unauthorized activity in marketing vendor Klue's integration layer, starting June 12, 2026 and contained the same day, affected some of its Salesforce data through a compromised OAuth token in the Salesforce-Klue integration. Impacted fields are limited to business data such as customer contact names, email addresses, and possibly business contract information. No evidence indicates Recorded Future's core platform, Intelligence Graph, internal databases, or customer platform data were accessed. The company revoked all relevant OAuth tokens, coordinated with Salesforce and law enforcement, and began reviewing all third-party Salesforce integrations.
Spain reports first alleged AI-powered data theft attack
Spain's data protection agency received a report of an AI agent autonomously exploiting flaws, logging in, altering personal data, and reading invoices.
The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) was notified of an incident in which an AI agent powered by a known LLM reportedly searched for vulnerabilities, gained access to systems, modified personal data, and accessed financial documents. AEPD has not yet investigated or verified the report but says it shows AI-related data breaches are no longer theoretical. The agency urged defenders to revise incident-response procedures, strengthen credential and identity security, and explicitly account for machine-speed AI-assisted attacks.
Revolut Data Leak May Trace Back to Compromised Italian Government Accounts
Attackers using a compromised Italian government PEC account impersonated law enforcement to obtain data on ~680 Revolut customers.
Revolut confirmed its systems were not breached; fraudulent data requests came from a compromised PEC mailbox tied to the Prefecture of Reggio Calabria on the pec.interno.it domain. Per the Financial Times, roughly 680 customers had identity documents, addresses, banking information, verification selfies and cryptocurrency transaction histories exposed. Researcher Korra of Duel described a 'spray and pray' operation using hundreds of crypto transaction IDs and fraudulent European Investigation Orders. Threat actor IAmNotAVillain claims six months of access and 147 GB exfiltrated from Italian law-enforcement systems, though this remains unverified.
Leaks, data breaches, and ransom notes: The worst hacks of 2026 so far
TechCrunch's 2026 roundup covers SSA data exposure, Iranian water-utility attacks, Klue breach hitting ~200 firms, and Meta AI chatbot account hijacks.
TechCrunch's mid-year roundup highlights a whistleblower claim that DOGE uploaded a live Social Security database copy to an unsecured third-party server, which House Democrats called potentially the largest US breach in history. CISA reported Iranian hackers targeted over 100 US water providers over the summer, while Russian-linked attacks hit Polish, Swedish, and Norwegian energy and water infrastructure. Market research firm Klue was breached via a stale 2022 pilot credential, exposing cloud keys of ~200 customers including Jamf, HackerOne, and LastPass to extortion gang Icarus. Separately, tens of thousands of Instagram accounts were hijacked by abusing Meta's AI chatbot to trigger password resets to attacker-controlled emails.
Surfshark VPN says hackers breached internal testing, proxy servers
Surfshark disclosed that hackers accessed misconfigured internal test and proxy servers, exposing build credentials but not customer data, VPN traffic, or production infrastructure.
Surfshark said a human error left an internal engineering test server reachable from the internet, exposing service configurations, build-related credentials, and portions of system binaries and code history. A separate proxy server used for content-accessibility optimization was also accessed, but it stored no user identity data, IP addresses, encryption keys, or browsing traffic. Suspicious activity was detected on August 31, contained on September 2, and remediation completed on September 5, with no evidence of credential misuse or spread to other systems. The company rotated impacted credentials, revoked exposed tokens, added monitoring and hardening, and commissioned an independent infrastructure audit; no customer action is required.