Hackers Just Used Claude Code AI To Autonomously Hack 30 Global Targets
In September 2025, a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group reportedly used Claude Code (an AI programming assistant created by Anthropic) to carry out a large-scale espionage operation against roughly 30 global targets, including major tech companies, financial institutions, chemical manufacturers, and government agencies. Unlike previous AI-assisted attacks, the attackers built an automated framework around Claude Code so that the AI could handle 80–90% of the tactical work: scanning networks, finding vulnerabilities, writing exploit code, testing stolen credentials, and pulling down data. Humans mostly popped in at a few key checkpoints to approve big moves like exploitation and data exfiltration. This is believed to be the first documented case of an AI autonomously executing such […]
