A new AI-enabled malware framework has been found that can fall back on victims’ own OpenAI API keys for artificial intelligence requests, charging the usage to the victim while obscuring who made the requests.
Cisco Talos observed the command-and-control (C2) framework, dubbed NIK C2, in the wild, according to research published on October 29.
Its Go-based implant gave attackers remote access, credential theft, keylogging and surveillance capabilities, while an integrated OpenAI client let them send stolen data for AI analysis within the compromised session.
NIK C2 Routes AI Requests Through Victim Machines
The AI capability is built into the implant rather than requiring operators to process collected information separately. Talos said attackers could supply a prompt and model choice through the C2 panel, with the implant sending the request to OpenAI from the victim’s machine and returning the response to the operator.
If the operator supplied no key, the malware read an OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable on the infected machine instead, which Talos called a deliberate design. An organization with an OpenAI API key configured on a compromised Windows system could therefore end up funding the attacker’s AI requests.
Read more on AI API key abuse: Attackers Steal METR API Key and Burn $600,000 in AI Credits
Talos said OpenAI’s billing system would charge the victim’s payment method and its access logs would show the victim’s key as the one making the requests, leaving no trace attributable to the attacker.
Malware Framework Combines Theft and Ransomware
Beyond its AI functionality, the Windows malware supported more than 52 commands covering credential theft, browser data collection, cryptocurrency wallets, Wi-Fi credentials, keylogging, screen capture and remote access. Talos said it also offered lateral movement and multiple defense-evasion capabilities.
The framework also contained a screen-locking ransomware module that displayed customized ransom demands in Bitcoin or the Tether stablecoin (USDT). Talos said the module encrypted no files, leaving no forensic trail of file-modification timestamps or encryption markers, and that a screen lock is considerably faster to deploy than file-encrypting ransomware.
The company said it observed at least three versions of the implant and found its infrastructure active during the research. That led it to assess with moderate confidence that NIK C2 is a fully functional framework rather than a proof of concept.
Talos said NIK C2 reshapes adversary tradecraft “by collapsing collection and exploitation into a single continuous session, effectively erasing the offline processing delays that historically granted defenders critical detection windows.”
