WIRED says an Accenture worker let an AI agent into a Pentagon network for two months. Accenture calls the allegations meritless.
Sources told WIRED that the employee connected a secure Defense Department system used by several intelligence agencies to a personal Claude Code account, allowing Anthropic's coding agent to write and deploy code.
According to WIRED's source, the worker supplied their own login. The agent then appears to have sent login details and a map of the network to a high-risk outside website.
An Accenture spokesperson told WIRED: "These allegations were thoroughly and independently investigated and found to be without merit." The company said it fully complied with its legal and contractual obligations. The Pentagon does not comment on its networks.
Contractors must report a cyber incident within 72 hours. Sources told WIRED that Accenture did not initially report this one. The company holds more than $3.5 billion in US federal contracts, including nearly $605 million with the Defense Department, WIRED reported.
The access-control problem is familiar to anyone managing consultants inside an ERP system: the login shows whose account is in use. It does not show whether that person has handed the session to an AI agent.
Sources
Our file on Accenture
- 31 Oct
Accenture says AI agents cut its hiring time by 28%. It says entry-level hires ramp up in six weeks, not six months.
- 25 Oct
AWS announced $1 billion for engineers who build AI inside client firms. Gartner advises clients to plan the exit before they arrive.
- 19 Oct
Accenture is exploring a China sale worth up to $1.5 billion. Buyers came unasked.
- 19 Oct
Accenture set a $29 monthly Claude allowance per worker. Some consultants spent $1,000.
- 15 Oct
Accenture has over 800,000 staff. Despite AI, it still expects headcount to grow.
For your next steering committee
- 1Ask which AI tools already touch your ERP or finance data, including the ones nobody approved.
- 2Ask what each tool is allowed to change, and who reviews what it changed.
- 3Ask how the result is measured, and who decides to switch a tool off.
Issue 01 of the ERP LEADERS brief puts a timeline, the three-number review and six questions on one page. Read issue 01
Welcome back. · Issue 01
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