The ‘first’ AI-run ransomware attack still needed a human; plus, hacktivists call out Trump by hacking and defacing US Army websites episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 8, 2026 · 7 MIN

The ‘first’ AI-run ransomware attack still needed a human; plus, hacktivists call out Trump by hacking and defacing US Army websites

from TechCrunch Industry News · host TechCrunch

An AI agent carried out the technical execution of a real-world ransomware attack for the first known time, but new details show a human still chose the victim, set up the infrastructure, and supplied stolen credentials — meaning it wasn't quite the fully autonomous cybercrime debut that last week's headlines suggested. Also, the U.S. Army has fixed two of its websites that were hacked to display messages calling President Trump a "pedophile" and a "thief." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 8, 2026

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The ‘first’ AI-run ransomware attack still needed a human; plus, hacktivists call out Trump by hacking and defacing US Army websites

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