Hackers Use Fake Claude AI Site to Infect Users With New Beagle Malware

Researchers have discovered a new malvertising campaign using a fake Claude AI website to plant a new, undocumented backdoor named Beagle on user devices.

Hackers are using AI popularity to trick people into installing malware. According to new research from Sophos X-Ops, shared with Hackread.com, a fake website designed to look like Anthropic’s Claude AI has been discovered spreading a previously unknown backdoor.

The deception starts with a malicious domain called claude-pro.com. Using malvertising (ads showing malicious links on real websites) and SEO poisoning (manipulating search engine results to increase a site’s ranking) to reach victims. To a normal user, it looked like a legitimate platform to get AI tools. However, it was actually a trap.

How the infection happens

When a visitor clicks the download link for a supposed Claude-Pro Relay tool, they receive a file named Claude-Pro-windows-x64 ...