CrowdStrike and AWS launch $100K AI red-teaming challenge where players hack rogue agents

CrowdStrike and Amazon Web Services want to pay you $100,000 to break their AI. The catch: you have to do it by manipulating autonomous agents inside a fictional shadow organization called Agents of Chaos. The challenge, officially titled AI Unlocked: Agents of Chaos, was announced on August 5 and runs from August 31 to September 29, 2026. Participants will use prompt injection techniques to hijack AI agents, essentially tricking autonomous systems into doing things they were never designed to do. How the challenge works The $100,000 prize pool is split across three escalating acts, each progressively harder and more lucrative. Act 1 runs from August 31 to September 7 and offers $10,000. Act 2 extends through September 14 with $20,000 on the line. Act 3, the final stretch from September 15 to 29, carries a $70,000 purse. Players enter a virtual scenario where they represent a fictional shadow organization. Their mission is to manipulate autonomous AI agents using techniques like prompt injection, a method where carefully crafted inputs override an agent’s original instructions. The competition builds on a research study also called Agents of Chaos, published on February 23, 2026. T...