Autonomous AI agents built on open-source frameworks breached Taiwanese government systems, compromised credentials, and probed a nuclear safety agency in a multi-day cyberattack that researchers say signals a new phase in AI-enabled operations.
The campaign unfolded over four days in early July, during which multiple AI agents operated in parallel to map networks, identify vulnerabilities, and execute intrusion steps across interconnected systems, according to research published by cybersecurity firm Dream.
“In roughly four days, the agentic attacker produced 1,395 files, 85 cracked credentials, thousands of exfiltrated personnel records, and gained a persistent foothold inside state infrastructure,” Dream wrote in a blog post. “It spells out one thing loudly – the cost of running a competent attack has collapsed, but the cost of defending against one has not.”
