AI-Powered Campaign Compromises Over 600 FortiGate Devices Worldwide

In a recent campaign that highlights the growing threat of AI-powered cyberattacks, a Russian-speaking threat actor compromised over 600 FortiGate devices across 55 countries using commercial generative AI tools. This sophisticated attack demonstrates how financially motivated actors are increasingly leveraging AI to scale and automate their attacks against exposed network infrastructure worldwide.

The attack, observed between January 11th and February 18th, 2026, involved the use of multiple commercial genAI services to exploit weak single-factor credentials and exposed management ports on FortiGate devices. Despite not exploiting any known vulnerabilities, the threat actor was able to compromise these devices using AI-generated attack plans and custom code.

Researchers at Amazon Threat Intelligence uncovered infrastructure hosting the attacker's tools, along with AI-generated attack plans, victim configurations, and custom code. The analysis of the source code revealed clear indicators of AI-assisted development, including redundant function names, simplistic architecture, and naive JSON parsing via string matching.

The threat actor scanned the internet for exposed FortiGate management ports, abused weak credentials, and stole full configurations containing VPN, admin, and network data. Once inside, the attacker used common open-source tools to escalate access, compromising Active Directory and extracting NTLM hashes. They also targeted Veeam backup servers to steal credentials and weaken recovery options.

However, when systems were patched or hardened, the threat actor's more advanced exploitation attempts largely failed. The attackers relied on multiple commercial LLMs for planning and code generation, creating a large toolkit that mimicked a full team's output. Despite this, they showed AI amplified scale and efficiency, but not true technical sophistication.

The Amazon Threat Intelligence report highlights the growing threat of AI-powered cyberattacks and urges organizations to take steps to disrupt the efficacy of such campaigns. Experts warn that AI-driven attacks will grow in 2026, and that strong patching, credential hygiene, segmentation, and detection are necessary to mitigate this risk.

Key Takeaways:

* Over 600 FortiGate devices compromised worldwide using commercial generative AI tools. * The threat actor exploited weak single-factor credentials and exposed management ports on FortiGate devices. * AI-generated attack plans and custom code were used to automate the attack. * Researchers uncovered infrastructure hosting the attacker's tools, including AI-generated attack plans and victim configurations. * The threat actor relied on multiple commercial LLMs for planning and code generation.

Recommendations:

* Organizations should ensure strong patching practices in place to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities. * Credential hygiene is crucial to prevent attacks that rely on weak or reused admin passwords. * Segmentation and network segmentation are necessary to limit the spread of malware and unauthorized access. * Detection tools and security information and event management (SIEM) systems can help identify and respond to AI-powered cyberattacks.

In conclusion,

The recent campaign highlights the growing threat of AI-powered cyberattacks. As AI-driven attacks become more sophisticated, it is essential for organizations to take proactive steps to protect themselves. By implementing strong patching practices, improving credential hygiene, segmenting networks, and investing in detection tools, organizations can reduce their risk of being compromised by these types of attacks.

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