Russian hackers plant nuclear weapon prompt in malware to trip AI safety guardrails

ESET has discovered a Russian state-sponsored hacking group, UAC-0099, embedding a manipulative prompt about nuclear weapons in a malicious VBS script to deliberately trigger AI safety mechanisms and disrupt AI-assisted malware analysis in Ukraine. The technique, named GuardBreaker, was found in a script tied to UAC-0099, a group previously linked to handing validated targets to the GRU-affiliated Sandworm hackers.

Russian state hackers are trying to interfere with AI-assisted malware analysis in Ukraine by deliberately setting off AI safety mechanisms, ESET has found. The technique, named GuardBreaker by ESET, appeared in a malicious VBS script tied to UAC-0099, a Russia-aligned group previously observed conducting initial-access operations and handing validated targets to the GRU-linked Sandworm hackers. The manipulative prompt UAC-0099 embedded as comments in the VBS script Source: ESET “The analyzed VBS script is part of … More https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/08/31/russian-hackers-ai-safety-filters-manipulation/ The post Russian hackers plant nuclear weapon prompt in malware to trip AI safety guardrails https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/08/31/russian-hackers-ai-safety-filters-manipulation/ appeared first on Help Net Security https://www.helpnetsecurity.com .