PROMPTFLUX and PROMPTSTEAL explained — AI Malware That Queries LLMs Mid-Attack (2026)

Mandiant's M-Trends 2026 report — released this week — named two malware families that represent a genuinely new category of threat in 2026: PROMPTFLUX and PROMPTSTEAL. These are not AI-assisted malware where humans use AI to write malicious code. They are malware families that actively query large language models during execution — using AI as part of their attack logic to evade detection and adapt in real time. My analysis of why this matters and what it changes for defenders.…

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