LLM Hijackers Quickly Incorporate DeepSeek API Keys

Sophisticated "LLMjacking" operations have obtained stolen access to DeepSeek models, just weeks after their public release. LLMjacking, like proxyjacking and cryptojacking, involves the illicit use of someone else's computing resources for one's own purposes. In this case, it's individuals using popular and otherwise expensive large language models (LLMs) from OpenAI, Anthropic, etc., to generate images, circumvent national bans, and more, while passing the bill along to someone else. Most recently, researchers from Sysdig observed hyperactive LLMjacking operations integrating access to models developed by DeepSeek. After the company released its DeepSeek-V3 model on Dec. 26, it only took LLMjackers a few days to obtain stolen access. Similarly, DeepSeek-R1 was released on Jan. 20, and attackers had it in their hands the very next day. "This isn't just a fad anymore," Sysdig cybersecurity strategist Crystal Morin says of LLMjacking. "This is far beyond where it was when we first discovered it last May." At scale, LLM usage can grow rather expensive. For instance, according to Sysdig's back-of-the-envelope calculations, 24/7 usage of GPT-4 could cost an account holder north of half a million dollars (though DeepSeek, at present, is orders of magnitude less expensive). In order to enjoy these models without having to incur their costs, attackers steal credentials for cloud services accounts, or application programming interface (API) keys associated with specific LLM apps. The...