CyberWire Daily

The lies that let AI run amok. [Research Saturday]

14 snips
Dec 20, 2025
Darren Meyer, a Security Research Advocate at Checkmarx, dives into the alarming world of AI vulnerabilities. He introduces 'lies-in-the-loop,' a technique that tricks developers into approving risky AI actions masked as harmless. Using examples with AI code assistants like Claude Code, he explains how prompt injection can lead to catastrophic consequences like remote code execution. With rising AI adoption, he stresses the critical need for better security awareness and protective measures in developer workflows.
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INSIGHT

Human Approval Is Not A Full Safety Net

  • Human review shifts responsibility but creates a new attack surface when agents can be manipulated.
  • Lies-in-the-loop exploits that transfer by getting agents to lie to users about intended actions.
ANECDOTE

Prompt Injection Demo That Ran Calculator

  • Checkmarx crafted a prompt injection in a GitHub issue that caused Cloud Code to propose running calc.
  • Developers tested still missed the hidden calc command and 100% of participants were tricked in that experiment.
INSIGHT

Long Outputs Hide Malicious Actions

  • Attackers can chain prompt injections to make agents lie and hide malicious commands in long, plausible text.
  • Long, dense outputs and skim-reading behavior make detection unlikely.
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