AI agents break into more than 100 company sites for about $5,000
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An investigation by the company NorForge, reported by Reuters on 19 October: what happened and why it matters.

In this article
The essentials
A Chinese-speaking hacker handed most of the work to AI agents and broke into the sites of more than 100 companies, for about $5,000 in total.
How the case was discovered
Snorre Fagerland (NorForge) was investigating exposed instances of Cairn, an open-source platform where several AI agents collaborate. About two dozen of them were linked to malicious activity, which began around 2 October.
The method and the cost
The instructions fitted in fewer than 100 Chinese characters. The agents worked alone for hours to find flaws and attempt intrusions: faced with a company’s main application, they examined the related infrastructure, found an exposed administration interface and exploited a flaw allowing commands to be executed. More than 1,200 sites were targeted; each intrusion took about 23 hours, for about $50. According to reports, the hacker combined DeepSeek models and Anthropic’s Claude Code.
Companies’ reactions
Reuters cites Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins. Deere says it took measures and sees no sign of access to sensitive information; SharkNinja says an isolated product-support site was hit and contained; Cummins is investigating a possible attack via a contractor’s site. Reuters could not establish what data was taken.
Why it matters
According to ODSC, Gambit Security reported in September an agent-driven campaign affecting 25 companies and at least 600,000 stolen bank card numbers. The case illustrates that with AI agents, a few dollars and few people are enough to target many companies.
To keep in mind
The figures come from NorForge’s investigation, relayed by Reuters; the original article was not consulted.
Learn the grammar
French grammar
Learn sentence patterns and usage from the article’s own sentences.
01The present indicative
est / sont + attribute (noun, adjective, prepositional phrase)
Les dates d’annonce, des faits et de vérification sont distinctes.Key pointsÊtre in the present is est for a singular subject and sont for a plural one. It describes nature, state or place (“is”, “is located”). If what follows (the attribute) is a noun, adjective or prepositional phrase, it is not a passive. If a past participle follows, it is a passive (est annoncé). Headlines and summaries often use the present to describe the current situation.
02The passé composé
present of avoir + past participle
Un pirate de langue chinoise a confié l’essentiel du travail à des agents d’IA et pénétré les sites de plus de 100 entreprises, pour environ 5 000 dollars au total.Key pointsThe passé composé is the most common past tense, used for “did” and “has done” — actions completed in the past. It is formed with the auxiliary avoir (a / ont…) in the present + a past participle. Past participles of -er verbs end in -é (annoncer → annoncé); learn the irregular ones (faire → fait, prendre → pris, voir → vu). In the negative, ne … pas wraps the auxiliary (n’a pas annoncé). In the news it reports facts that have already happened, such as “announced” or “voted”.
03The passé composé of pronominal verbs
se + present of être + past participle
Une enquête de la société NorForge, rapportée par Reuters le 19 octobre : ce qui s’est passé et pourquoi cela compte.Key pointsThe passé composé of a pronominal verb (se + verb) always uses être as auxiliary (il s’est diffusé / elles se sont réunies). Se changes with the subject: me, te, se, nous, vous. The past participle usually agrees with the subject in gender and number.
04The imparfait
stem (nous form of the present) + -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient
Snorre Fagerland (NorForge) enquêtait sur des instances exposées de Cairn, une plateforme open source où plusieurs agents d’IA collaborent.Key pointsThe imparfait describes states, background, habits and actions in progress in the past (il était, elle avait, ils pensaient). Take the nous form of the present, drop -ons, and add -ais / -ais / -ait / -ions / -iez / -aient. If the passé composé gives “the event itself”, the imparfait paints “the situation at the time”.
05The passive voice in the present
être (est / sont) + past participle (+ par / de)
Environ deux douzaines d’entre elles étaient liées à une activité malveillante, qui a commencé vers le 2 octobre.Key pointsThe passive means “is done” or “is being done”. It is formed with être + past participle, which agrees with the subject in gender and number (la mesure est adoptée / les mesures sont adoptées). The agent is introduced by par (or de). In the news it is common when the event, rather than the actor, is the focus (est prévu / est annoncé / est connu).
06The passive in the passé composé
a / ont été + past participle
Plus de 1 200 sites ont été visés ; chaque intrusion a pris environ 23 heures, pour environ 50 dollars.Key pointsThe past passive means “was done”. Its form is present of avoir + été (past participle of être) + past participle. Été does not change, but the last participle agrees with the subject in gender and number (la loi a été votée / les textes ont été votés). It is frequent in news reporting results such as votes, decisions and announcements.
07Negation and its scope
ne / n’ … pas · ne … plus
Reuters n’a pas pu établir quelles données ont été prises.Key pointsNormally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.
08Citing a source with selon
selon + noun / organisation
Selon les comptes rendus, le pirate a combiné des modèles DeepSeek et Claude Code d’Anthropic.Key pointsSelon means “according to”. Put a person or organisation after it as the source. It separates facts the writer checked directly from what another body or report said. Citing a source does not turn a forecast into an accomplished fact.
09Purpose with pour
pour + infinitive
Les agents ont travaillé seuls pendant des heures pour trouver des failles et tenter des intrusions : face à l’application principale d’une entreprise, ils ont examiné l’infrastructure connexe, trouvé une interface d’administration exposée et exploité une faille permettant d’exécuter des commandes.Key pointsThis is the purpose, “in order to…”. Put the base form of a verb after pour. The purpose stated here is separate from whether the effect was actually achieved.
10The subject relative pronoun qui
noun + qui + verb
Environ deux douzaines d’entre elles étaient liées à une activité malveillante, qui a commencé vers le 2 octobre.Key pointsQui continues a description of the person or thing just mentioned (“the one that does…”). Because qui is itself the subject of the next verb, do not repeat the subject. The verb agrees with the noun qui refers to.
11Dates and their prepositions
le + 日付 / du … au …
Une enquête de la société NorForge, rapportée par Reuters le 19 octobre : ce qui s’est passé et pourquoi cela compte.Key pointsLe 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.
Japanese grammar
Understand the structure and usage from the text.
01Citing a source: によると
noun + によると
ODSCの記事によると、9月にも、Gambit Securityが、AIエージェントによる攻撃で25社が被害を受け、少なくとも60万件のクレジットカード情報が盗まれたと報告しています。Key pointsAs in “LCPによると”, it shows where the information comes from. What that source reported follows. It is used differently from “私にとって”, which gives one’s own opinion.
02Expressing a possibility
〜可能性がある / 〜かもしれない
カミンズは、外部の業者のサイトが関係する可能性のある攻撃を、調べています。Key pointsThese forms say something may happen. Even when “possibility” is written, it does not mean it will certainly happen. Check whose forecast it is, plus the time and conditions.
03Cause or purpose with ため
〜ため / 〜ために
Cairnは、複数のAIが協力して問題を解くためのものです。Key pointsため is used for both reason and purpose. “成立ではないため” is a reason and “運転手を守るため” a purpose. Decide from the whole sentence whether what precedes is a cause or a goal.
04The polite past ました
verb stem (連用形) + ました
中国語を使う攻撃者が、AIエージェントにほとんどの作業を任せて、100社を超える企業のサイトに侵入しました。Key pointsIn “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.
05Quoting with と: content and report
plain-form sentence + と + verbe de parole (報じる, 説明する…)
報道では、DeepSeekのモデルと、Anthropicの「Claude Code」を組み合わせたとされています。Key pointsと takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.
06Treating a clause like a noun with こと
plain-form sentence + こと + particle
AIエージェントを使えば、少ない費用と人手で、多くの会社を狙えることを示す例として、注目されています。Key points“〜すること” treats an action or content like a noun. The particle after it (が・を・は…) shows its role in the sentence. “ことができる” is a fixed combination meaning “can”.