Anthropic’s agentic AI, Claude, has been linked to high-level cyberattacks, according to a new report published by the company. The findings reveal how cybercriminals have attempted to “weaponize” the AI for hacking campaigns that targeted at least 17 organizations, including healthcare providers, emergency services, and government entities.
How Hackers Exploited Claude
According to Anthropic, a cybercriminal group ran a “vibe hacking” extortion scheme using Claude Code, the company’s agentic coding tool. The AI was leveraged to automate reconnaissance, harvest credentials, penetrate networks, and even make strategic decisions about which data to target.
The attackers also used Claude to generate “visually alarming” ransom notes, demanding six-figure sums to prevent stolen personal data from being released.
“This represents an unprecedented reliance on AI in a real-world cyberattack,” Anthropic said in the report. “Claude was used not just as an assistant, but as an operational partner in the extortion process.”
Anthropic’s Response
After discovering the malicious activity, Anthropic says it banned the accounts involved and shared intelligence with law enforcement. The company has since built an automated screening system and improved its methods for detecting misuse, though specific technical details were withheld to prevent further abuse.
