AI Hacking Fears Spark Debate Among Cybersecurity Experts

Anthropic has claimed to have detected the world’s first AI-led hacking campaign, sparking mixed reactions among cybersecurity experts. The company reported that its Claude Code assistant was manipulated to carry out most of a large and sophisticated cyberattack targeting government agencies, financial institutions, tech firms and chemical manufacturers, though only a few intrusions succeeded. Anthropic attributed the operation to Chinese state-sponsored hackers but offered few details about how it uncovered the attack or which 30 entities were targeted. Experts like Roman V. Yampolskiy agree AI-assisted hacking is a serious threat, though the specifics of Anthropic’s claims remain difficult to verify.