AI RiskThu, 22 Oct 2026
⑤ Hermes and OpenClaw: How API and identity flaws exposed government systems
The investigation traces a path from public APIs through accounts and single sign-on to internal services and data.
Article
On August 12, Dream Research Labs described a July operation using the Hermes and OpenClaw agent frameworks. The published report did not name the underlying models. Taiwan’s Administration for Cyber Security confirmed on August 13 that the activity combined human operators with AI agents. It urged organizations to check secondary systems such as backups and testing environments.
Dream also observed broader reconnaissance against energy, nuclear security and supplier targets. Some controls interrupted follow-on activity. For example, Forms Authentication blocked access to an uploaded web shell.
- 01
Map public entry points
Attackers analyzed frontend applications, logins and APIs.
- 02
Obtain a usable identity
Weak passwords, unauthorized APIs and gaps in JWT verification provided paths to access.
- 03
Reach internal services
Single sign-on extended access across applications, opening opportunities to query or extract data.
What to do: from the perimeter to internal systems
- 01
Inventory all entry points
Include production, testing, backup, container and outsourced environments.
See what to doResources: 1
TWISA member solutions
Inventory all entry points
Include production, testing, backup, container and outsourced environments.
- 02
Validate APIs and identity
Test with unauthenticated and low-privilege accounts. Check JWT signatures, issuer, audience and expiry.
See what to doResources: 1
TWISA member solutions
Validate APIs and identity
Test with unauthenticated and low-privilege accounts. Check JWT signatures, issuer, audience and expiry.
- 03
Limit access after SSO
Enforce role and data permissions at each service, and revoke abnormal accounts and sessions.
See what to doResources: 1
TWISA member solutions
Limit access after SSO
Enforce role and data permissions at each service, and revoke abnormal accounts and sessions.
- 04
Correlate identity and data events
Trace API and SSO logs through to data access before restoring affected services.
See what to doResources: 1
TWISA member solutions
Correlate identity and data events
Trace API and SSO logs through to data access before restoring affected services.
Public and secondary systems, APIs, identity providers and sensitive data
Allow authorized traffic and apply controls at each layer.
- 01
Inventory all entry points
Public and secondary systems, APIs, identity providers and sensitive data
Validate the controlInclude production, testing, backup, container and outsourced environments.
- 02
Validate APIs and identity
Public and secondary systems, APIs, identity providers and sensitive data
Validate the controlTest with unauthenticated and low-privilege accounts. Check JWT signatures, issuer, audience and expiry.
- 03
Limit access after SSO
Public and secondary systems, APIs, identity providers and sensitive data
Validate the controlEnforce role and data permissions at each service, and revoke abnormal accounts and sessions.
Feed logs and traffic data from each layer into monitoring and response.
- Correlate identity and data eventsTrace API and SSO logs through to data access before restoring affected services.
TWISA member solutions
Inventory all entry points
Include production, testing, backup, container and outsourced environments.
Validate APIs and identity
Test with unauthenticated and low-privilege accounts. Check JWT signatures, issuer, audience and expiry.
Limit access after SSO
Enforce role and data permissions at each service, and revoke abnormal accounts and sessions.
Correlate identity and data events
Trace API and SSO logs through to data access before restoring affected services.
Continue the discussion at CIX
A future CIX meetup can use the API-to-SSO path to test a team’s threat model. Bring a secondary application or staging service and walk through the permissions that still apply after sign-in.
Sources and further reading
- Dream investigation
- Taiwan Administration for Cyber Security advisory
- Read the full article in Traditional Chinese
Column updated: 2026/10/25.