Criminal Tapped AI Model To Steal Healthcare Details, Financial Info and Government Credentials, Threatened To Expose the Data Unless Paid $500,000+

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Anthropic says a cybercriminal has used its artificial intelligence (AI) model to steal sensitive personal information and demand hefty ransoms to not expose it.

Members of Anthropic’s threat intelligence team Alex Moix, Ken Lebedev and Jacob Klein say in a new report that a cybercriminal misused the AI firm’s Claude chatbot to assist in data theft and ransom demands.

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“We recently disrupted a sophisticated cybercriminal that used Claude Code to commit large-scale theft and extortion of personal data. The actor targeted at least 17 distinct organizations…

The actor used AI to what we believe is an unprecedented degree. Claude Code was used to automate reconnaissance, harvesting victims’ credentials and penetrating networks. Claude was allowed to make both tactical and strategic decisions, such as deciding which data to exfiltrate, and how to craft psychologically targeted extortion demands. Claude analyzed the exfiltrated financial data to determine appropriate ransom amounts, and generated visually alarming ransom notes that were displayed on victim machines.”

Anthropic says that the cybercriminal orchestrated “a systematic attack campaign that focused on comprehensive data theft and extortion” using the AI model.

“The actor provided Claude Code with their preferred operational TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures) in their CLAUDE.md file that is used as a guide for Claude Code to respond to prompts in a manner preferred by the user….

The actor’s systematic approach resulted in the compromise of personal records, including healthcare data, financial information, government credentials and other sensitive information, with direct ransom demands occasionally exceeding $500,000.”

The firm also says that the use of its AI models for illicit purposes is occurring despite its efforts to curb them.

“We have developed sophisticated safety and security measures to prevent the misuse of our AI models. While these measures are generally effective, cybercriminals and other malicious actors continually attempt to find ways around them.”