New 'hallusquatting' attack hides malware in AI coding suggestions
There's a new cyberattack called "hallusquatting" that targets people using AI coding assistants like Copilot and Cursor.
Basically, these tools sometimes suggest software packages that don't actually exist. Hackers are jumping in, registering those fake names, and hiding malware inside them.
If you trust the AI's suggestion, you could end up downloading malware without even realizing it.
Researchers find assistants suggest nonexistent packages
Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Intuit found that popular AI coding tools like Gemini and GitHub Copilot get them wrong a lot, suggesting nonexistent packages up to 100% of the time in some cases.
While companies have been warned about this issue, nothing's really fixed yet, so it's smart to double-check what your coding assistant recommends before installing anything new.