Microsoft researchers show AI agents can be backdoored by editing fewer than 10 neurons
Microsoft researchers showed a technique called Lazarus that plants a hidden backdoor in an AI model by changing fewer than 10 rarely used neurons, with no retraining. When a trigger appears, an agent using the model runs an attacker's command, yet it behaves normally during standard safety tests.
Why it matters
Companies that give AI agents access to terminals or systems need to verify where model weights come from and who can change them, because safety tests may not catch this kind of tampering.
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