Exclusive: AI's growing internet footprint
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The amount of AI-related infrastructure exposed to the public internet jumped 63% in nine months, according to new Censys data shared first with Axios.
Why it matters: The AI boom isn't just creating new models and chatbots. It's creating a sprawling layer of software that companies will also need to inventory, patch and secure.
Threat level: Many of these tools connect AI applications to sensitive corporate data and other services, creating potential entry points for hackers looking to access company systems.
- "It's a little bit beyond just like the tool itself, but these [tools] talk to some really sensitive systems," Emily Austin, a principal researcher at Censys and co-author of the report, told Axios.
The big picture: Censys identified nearly 268,000 internet-facing systems running 44 different AI-related products as of July, up from roughly 164,000 in October 2025.
- These include the software used to connect AI models to databases, corporate applications and other services.
Between the lines: The ease of building and hosting AI applications is making it harder for companies to keep track of what software employees are using and whether it's secure.
- Censys CEO Zakir Durumeric told Axios that companies were already struggling to keep track of their existing software even before employees started building their own AI applications.
- These new AI apps can often connect to sensitive company information, such as emails, financial records and internal databases.
Zoom in: The most widely exposed product was n8n, a workflow automation platform that can connect AI agents to other applications and services.
- Censys found nearly 114,000 internet-facing deployments of n8n, including roughly 77,000 running software versions affected by at least one recently disclosed critical vulnerability.
- Researchers also found more than 54,000 exposed control panels for OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent that users can connect to personal accounts and other services.
Yes, but: The findings don't establish whether those deployments are actually vulnerable to exploitation, but they highlight the risks of exposing software that can access sensitive company systems.
The bottom line: Companies need to treat AI infrastructure like any other software they deploy, Austin said, including regularly reviewing, updating and securing the systems.
Go deeper: Shadow AI creates new headaches for company IT teams
