AISN #71: Cyberattacks & Datacenter Moratorium Bill

<p> Also, updates on the Anthropic vs. Pentagon court case..</p> <p> We’re Hiring. Opportunities at CAIS include: Head of Public Engagement, Principal, Special Projects, Program Manager, Operations Manager, and other roles. If you’re interested in working on reducing AI risk alongside a talented, mission-driven team, consider applying!</p><p><strong> AI Software Infrastructure Cyberattacks</strong></p><p> Recently, cyberattacks targeting the AI industry's software infrastructure stole private information potentially worth billions of dollars and inserted backdoors into developers’ computers. Google Threat Intelligence Group reported that one of the largest cyberattacks in this wave was carried out by North Korea-linked hackers.</p><p> The stolen data may be worth billions. Hackers stole and auctioned private data from Mercor, an AI training data supplier for OpenAI and Anthropic which was recently valued at $10 billion. Mercor collects AI training data from a large number of experts, as well as highly sensitive personal and biometric data for identity verification. This attack not only comprises the data that Mercor sells, but also internal data that could be used to impersonate their hired experts. A person familiar with the situation stated that Mercor has paid the hackers’ requested ransom, although it remains unclear if the hackers intend to release or sell the data [...]</p> <p>---</p><p><strong>Outline:</strong></p><p>(00:41) AI Software Infrastructure Cyberattacks</p><p>(02:34) Datacenter Moratorium and Export Controls Bill</p><p>(04:21) Anthropic v. Department of War Lawsuit</p><p>(07:23) In Other News</p><p>(07:26) Government</p><p>(07:46) Industry</p><p>(08:20) Civil Society</p> <p>---</p> <p><b>First published:</b><br/> April 10th, 2026 </p> <p><b>Source:</b><br/> <a href="https://newsletter.safe.ai/p/aisn-71-cyberattacks-and-datacenter?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Source+URL+in+episode+description&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://newsletter.safe.ai/p/aisn-71-cyberattacks-and-datacenter</a> </p> <p>---</p> <p>Want more? Check out our <a href="https://newsletter.mlsafety.org/?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Episode+description+footer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">ML Safety Newsletter</a> for technical safety research.</p> <p>Narrated by <a href="https://type3.audio/?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Narrated+by+TYPE+III+AUDIO&utm_term=center_for_ai_safety&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TYPE III AUDIO</a>.</p> <p>---</p><div style="max-width: 100%";><p><strong>Images from the article:</strong></p><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pUGs!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9237e72-4b1f-4074-9026-f597aa42c5f4_915x1217.png" target="_blank"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pUGs!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9237e72-4b1f-4074-9026-f597aa42c5f4_915x1217.png" alt="Auction listing for Mercor.com hacked data, asking price negotiable." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!naLh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ce0d5a2-e900-4cfd-a8ec-1070b990914f_1440x1080.png" target="_blank"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!naLh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4ce0d5a2-e900-4cfd-a8ec-1070b990914f_1440x1080.png" alt="OpenAI’s Stargate datacenter construction project in Abilene, Texas." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jlnf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4cbf5fb7-84f7-4212-96e3-ddc819706acf_1600x385.png" target="_blank"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jlnf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4cbf5fb7-84f7-4212-96e3-ddc819706acf_1600x385.png" alt="Legislative document proposing moratorium on data center construction pending AI safety legislation." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8wm9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb3e4da78-f787-4954-8b7f-1c1f27aa5afa_1600x650.png" target="_blank"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8wm9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb3e4da78-f787-4954-8b7f-1c1f27aa5afa_1600x650.png" alt="Document excerpt with two sentences highlighted in yellow discussing government authority and First Amendment concerns regarding Anthropic's designation as a supply chain risk." style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!j8C4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc39b9d41-85ac-4e8f-9d99-bbe75ac07975_1575x853.png" target="_blank"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!j8C4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc39b9d41-85ac-4e8f-9d99-bbe75ac07975_1575x853.png" alt="The cover page of Anthropic’s lawsuit against the DoW in California, showing several of the government agencies named in the lawsuit. (source __T3A_LINK_IN_POST__)" style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><p><em>Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try <a href="https://pocketcasts.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Pocket Casts</a>, or another podcast app.</em></p></div>