FT report says suspected China-linked hackers used autonomous AI agents in Taiwan government breach

A group of suspected China-linked hackers used autonomous open-source AI agents to breach multiple Taiwanese government systems in early July, according to a Financial Times report citing research from Israeli cybersecurity firm Dream. The company said the operation is the first government-targeted cyberattack it has seen carried out in an end-to-end autonomous manner. Dream said the attack unfolded over four days and involved as many as eight AI agents operating at the same time. The agents were used to identify targets, study available vulnerabilities, test different intrusion paths, and switch tactics when defenses blocked them. According to the firm, the campaign mapped the network architecture of 21 government systems, compromised at least 85 government user accounts, and stole more than 2,500 personnel records. The reported impact later extended to Taiwan’s nuclear safety regulator and at least seven energy companies. Dream Chief Strategy Officer Amir Becker said AI had previously been used to help human hackers with isolated tasks, but this case stood out because reconnaissance, vulnerability discovery, and intrusion were largely automated. Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs declined comment on confidentiality grounds, while China did not respond to requests for comment. The report noted that official attribution has not been confirmed.