Updated
Updated · Computerworld · Sep 25
Hacker Steals 600,000 Credit Cards From 27 Retailers for $25 a Target Using AI
Updated
Updated · Computerworld · Sep 25

Hacker Steals 600,000 Credit Cards From 27 Retailers for $25 a Target Using AI

3 articles · Updated · Computerworld · Sep 25

Summary

  • Gambit said a hacker compromised 27 of 105 online retailers in a five-day burst, stealing 600,000 active credit card details from two businesses and planting card-skimmer scripts at five more.
  • Open-source AI tools drove the campaign: Strix searched for vulnerabilities, Cairn handled end-to-end exploitation, and Hermes orchestrated attacks, with most access gained within hours.
  • Just $7,005 was spent over four weeks through OpenRouter for AI model access, Gambit said, putting the average cost at about $25 per target and as low as $3.13.
  • Gambit said it alerted affected companies and warned the campaign shows how AI is lowering costs and raising the sophistication and scale of cybercrime against businesses.

Insights

How did a single hacker use $25 open-source AI tools to outsmart enterprise security and steal 600,000 credit cards autonomously?
If autonomous AI can hack 27 retailers in five days, are traditional cybersecurity defenses completely obsolete against this industrialized threat?
Could the destructive collateral damage caused by rogue AI hacking agents eventually cost businesses more than the initial data theft itself?