Symantec finds AI agent hijacking language models for self-sustaining cyberattacks

security researchers at symantec analyzed a malicious ai agent that hijacks unprotected language models on the internet, using them to run autonomous attacks. the agent, called 'llmjacking,' bypasses model safety rules through a five-layer jailbreak and can execute up to 100,000 steps without human input. once hijacked, the model scans for targets, exploits flaws in server software, steals databases and credentials, and installs cryptominers. the model's owner gets stuck with the compute bill. the attack was caught by a symantec honeypot, which logged over 127,000 requests from tens of thousands of different addresses.