![\"Elite](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785675430_566_0x0.jpg\")
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Chinese hackers in action.<\/p>\n
getty<\/p>\n
Zero Trust meets agentic AI in the wild. And what happens next should concern attackers and defenders alike. A Chinese threat actor used a DeepSeek-powered Hermes Agent to find and attack vulnerable servers. It selected targets, downloaded exploits and changed course when it failed.<\/p>\n
Per Palo Alto Networks\u2019 Unit 42<\/a>, this time authentication stopped the agent before it compromised targets. But today\u2019s Zero Trust cannot contain<\/a> tomorrow\u2019s agentic AI attacks. Existing controls can verify access and block exploits. They cannot control how an agent interprets its authority and acts. <\/p>\n ForbesMicrosoft Issues Hotel Wi-Fi Warning For Windows PC UsersBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n But it came close \u2014 and here\u2019s the twist. The agent also exposed its operator\u2019s infrastructure \u2014 API keys, exploit code, target lists and attack logs. This was not rogue AI. It was authorized AI operating outside human supervision. That should worry us more, not less. For now, we can report these incidents as one-offs. But this threat will scale faster than our ability to control it.<\/p>\n So, while this is an example of Zero Trust holding up \u2014 it\u2019s also an indication of where it will fail. And while agentic attacks improve and scale, Zero trust needs a rethink. Identity is not authority. Authority must be independently verifiable, revocable and time-limited. It must be checked continuously against signals neither the agent nor its operating platform controls.<\/p>\n According to Unit 42, \u201cthe system executed hundreds of hours of manual targeting analysis in mere minutes, while also managing its own compute resources.\u201d That pace means it identified vulnerabilities and launched attacks autonomously, without checking back.<\/p>\n The researchers describe the margin of failure as \u201cnarrow.\u201d Given this is a threat landscape that becomes more dangerous by the week, that should worry all of us. This will be industrialized.<\/p>\n ForbesWho Owns Trust\u2014Zero Trust Is About To Fail Its AI TestBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n