A new open-source tool has recently captured the attention of Silicon Valley. Why, well, it’s promising the kind of digital agency that most AI assistants only hint at. Originally known as Clawdbot, the AI-powered agent project recently rebranded to Moltbot following a trademark request from Anthropic. Even though the name has changed, Moltbot AI agent’s main draw is still the same: a personal assistant that can run complicated tasks on your whole operating system—with some security risks attached.
Meet Moltbot, the open-source assistant that executes tasks without prompts
Clawdbot/Moltbot is different from regular chatbots because it is an autonomous agent. It can connect to your email, Slack, and calendar to take action on its own instead of waiting for step-by-step instructions. The tool works right inside messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp to help you clean out your inbox, book a flight, or set up a morning news briefing, among other things.
However, this level of convenience comes with a significant warning from its creator, Peter Steinberger. He famously described running an AI with shell access on your machine as “spicy,” noting that a perfectly secure setup simply does not exist.
The main risk is how much access the agent needs to be of real help. For Moltbot to work as it should, it needs to be able to read private messages, save sensitive information, and run scripts on your device. This level of power effectively breaks down traditional security barriers. People who work for threat intelligence platforms like SOCRadar say that users should treat these agents like important infrastructure. They often use the analogy of a butler who manages your entire house; while the service is invaluable, you must ensure the front door remains locked to prevent unauthorized access.
Why giving Moltbot/Clawdbot full system access Is a risky move
Researchers in security have already started to detect real-world weaknesses. Scanners like Shodan have found more than a thousand cases of these agents being exposed on the public internet, some of which don’t have the right authentication. This can show months of conversation history or private API keys. Also, the threat of prompt injection is very real. A bad actor could send a message that makes the AI run harmful commands or delete important system files.
If you want to try this tech, the hardware requirements are surprisingly low. You don’t need a powerful computer to run the software; even an old laptop can do the job. But you need to be somewhat tech-savvy to set it up. The learning curve might be steep if you don’t know what “sandboxing” or “reverse proxies” mean. The developers suggest being careful and starting with limited access to the system. As you get more comfortable with your security setup, you can gradually give more access.
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