Chinese state-aligned hackers broke into IT management giant ConnectWise and used stolen credentials to spy on around 2,250 companies — with AI agents carrying out attempted sign-ins at a rate of nearly 3,000 per minute, Microsoft’s security researchers report.
ConnectWise breach (Credits: TechCrunch)
How the ConnectWise Breach Worked
According to Microsoft, the hackers broke into ConnectWise’s cloud backup service and stole application credentials used to establish data links between ConnectWise and its corporate customers. With those credentials, the attackers could log into a customer’s Microsoft-hosted environment as if they were an authorized user, accessing emails and other files.
ConnectWise says it has paused access to its cloud backup system and is investigating, while working on restoring the service as of Thursday.
AI Agents Drove the Attack’s Speed
Microsoft says the hackers used AI agents to rapidly hit the organizations, leaving defenders “little time to detect and respond.” The software was reportedly ARTEX, an open-source AI framework that works with AI models to stress-test cyber defenses.
The same AI software was used in a recent compromise of South Korea’s financial systems, many of which had weak security and lacked multi-factor authentication.
The breach marks another major escalation in state-linked cyberattacks — and a warning that AI-powered hacking is now operating at machine speed.
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Source: TechCrunch — read the full story there.
