AI agent incident

Attackers stole a METR API key and burned about $600,000 in AI credits

Reported · 1 source

What happened

Attackers took an API key belonging to the AI safety evaluator METR and consumed roughly $600,000 of AI credits before the theft was detected.

Why it matters

This is credential sprawl with a dollar figure attached. A per-key spend cap would have turned $600,000 into whatever the cap was set to.

Sources

  1. The Hacker News Attackers Steal METR API Key and Consume AI Credits Worth About $600,000

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Background reading

What is an LLM gateway? An explainer on the problem behind this incident.

In the tools directory

These pages list this record as a related incident, next to the products in the category and questions to ask their vendors.

Cite or correct this record

“Attackers stole a METR API key and burned about $600,000 in AI credits.” The Permission Layer AI Agent Incident Database, https://thepermissionlayer.com/incidents/metr-api-key-theft/. Database updated October 22, 2026.

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