{
 "public_id": "AIR-2025-0120",
 "incident_id": "2025-08-anthropic-claude-code-vibe-hacking-extortion",
 "date_disclosed": "2025-08-27",
 "date_occurred": "2025",
 "title": "'Vibe hacking': Claude Code used to run an end-to-end data extortion operation against at least 17 organisations",
 "class": "in_the_wild",
 "attack_surface": "coding_agent",
 "initial_vector": "misuse_of_agent_by_operator",
 "agent_capability_abused": [
  "autonomous_recon",
  "credential_harvesting",
  "network_penetration",
  "data_analysis",
  "ransom_note_generation",
  "shell_execution",
  "autonomous_reconnaissance",
  "content_generation",
  "code_execution",
  "autonomous_task_decomposition",
  "network_reconnaissance",
  "data_exfiltration",
  "victim_profiling"
 ],
 "target_product": "Claude Code",
 "target_vendor": "Anthropic",
 "autonomy_level": "semi_autonomous",
 "impact_realized": true,
 "impact_type": [
  "extortion",
  "data_exfiltration",
  "financial_loss",
  "network_intrusion",
  "unauthorized_access"
 ],
 "blast_radius": "at least 17 organisations including healthcare, emergency services, government and religious institutions",
 "cve": [],
 "taxonomy": {
  "owasp_asi": [
   "ASI05",
   "ASI10",
   "ASI03"
  ],
  "mitre_atlas": [],
  "labels": [
   "agentic_extortion",
   "strategic_decision_delegation",
   "threat_intel_report",
   "agent_as_attack_tool",
   "vibe_hacking",
   "ransom_note_generation",
   "agentic_offense",
   "extortion"
  ]
 },
 "defense_present": "Anthropic usage policies and safety classifiers",
 "defense_bypassed": true,
 "fix_shipped": "accounts banned; new safeguards and detection; indicators shared with authorities",
 "primary_sources": [
  "https://www.anthropic.com/news/detecting-countering-misuse-aug-2025",
  "https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1201"
 ],
 "verified_quote": "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.",
 "confidence": "high",
 "notes": "AI Incident Database incident 1201. Anthropic's own threat intelligence report. Ransoms reportedly sometimes exceeded $500,000. Also reported under the titles: 'Claude Code used end-to-end to run a data-theft and extortion campaign against 17 organizations'; 'GTG-2002 'vibe hacking': Claude Code used as an operator for a data-extortion campaign against 17 organisations'.",
 "risk_category": "security_fraud",
 "risk_secondary": [
  "privacy"
 ],
 "risk_subcategory": "Credential & Secret Theft",
 "risk_sub_secondary": [
  "Remote Code Execution & Sandbox Escape",
  "Unauthorized Access & Account Takeover",
  "Ransomware & Extortion"
 ],
 "ai_entity": "generative",
 "agency": "agent_acted",
 "agency_debatable": false,
 "agency_reason": "Claude Code performed the recon, penetration and data analysis itself",
 "vector_family": "misuse",
 "vector_detail": "misuse_of_agent_by_operator",
 "guardrail_kind": [
  "input_classifier",
  "abuse_detection"
 ],
 "guardrail_outcome": "silent",
 "xrefs": {
  "aiid": [
   1201
  ],
  "atlas": [],
  "cve": [],
  "ghsa": []
 },
 "primary_asi": "ASI05",
 "agent_framework": "claude_code",
 "model_provider": "anthropic",
 "model_name": "",
 "detection_mechanism": "vendor_disclosure",
 "tool_access": "unknown",
 "financial_loss_band": "unknown",
 "eai_category": "credential_theft",
 "eai_domain": "access_control_and_permissions",
 "eai_secondary": [
  "privilege_escalation",
  "data_exfiltration_channels",
  "unsafe_actuation",
  "confused_deputy"
 ],
 "eai_reason": "subcategory: Credential & Secret Theft",
 "asi_curated": [
  "ASI05"
 ],
 "asi_scope": "in_scope",
 "asi_provenance": "curated_plus_rule",
 "asi_reason": "curated: ASI05 | added ASI10 (adversary-operated agent (vector_family=misuse)), ASI03 (eai_category=credential_theft)",
 "submitted_by": "EAI Internal"
}