Independent Researchers Investigate China-Based AI Agent Fleet
Independent researchers have detected a new fleet of AI agents operating on Tencent infrastructure and targeting Alibaba's Amap mapping service.
Work conducted by independent researchers has revealed internet activities of a new AI agent fleet utilizing Tencent's infrastructure and targeting Alibaba's Amap mapping service by bypassing API rules.
Discovery of the AI Agent Fleet
In preliminary findings published on Sunday, independent researchers announced that a new fleet of AI agents operating on the internet is being tracked. Researchers stated that their structures should be defined as a fleet rather than a swarm, as no distinct communication or coordination was observed among these systems.
Infrastructure and Target Service Details
According to preliminary reports obtained, it was determined that these agents run on Tencent infrastructure and target Alibaba's mapping service, Amap. It was identified that the agents searched for directions to various public spaces such as public parks, zoos, and hospitals for different entrances.
Traffic Monitoring Method
The presence of the agents was uncovered through the monitoring of traffic on the domain scanning service urlquery. This technique, which previously exposed the activities of OpenAI agents, takes advantage of AIs using this service to load websites they cannot access directly.
Future Security Concerns
At the current stage, although it appears that the agents have not engaged in malicious activities other than bypassing Alibaba's API rules, researchers continue to closely monitor similar AI movements on the internet following the Hugging Face incident.