The AI key heist
Bots went hunting for AI keys 578 times.
Most wanted: Google Gemini keys. They checked 37 hiding spots, from /img/asset/YXNzZXRzL2dlbWluaV9nZW5lcmF0ZWRfaW1hZ2VfaDA2MWxnaDA2MWxnaDA2MS1jb3B5LndlYnA/gemini_generated_image_h061lgh061lgh061-copy.webp to /.cursor/mcp.json.
Edition of Sunday, Nov 8, 2026 (UTC) · see the latest · updated every 24 hours
578
AI key hunts
▲ +28% vs the day before
308
hunters
▲ +52% vs the day before
37
hiding spots
▼ -7.5% vs the day before
0.8%
of all probes
Every edition: AI key hunts
How we measure
Requests for paths that point at an AI provider's keys or an AI agent's settings: /.env.openai, /anthropic.json, /.claude/settings.json, /mcp.json, /.cursor/mcp.json and the like. Each path is credited to the first provider whose name it contains. Counted across every site behind the NiceTryBot edge during the UTC day.
Where they looked
The paths scanners tried, most-requested first.
| Path | Provider | Requests | Scanners |
|---|---|---|---|
| /img/asset/YXNzZXRzL2dlbWluaV9nZW5lcmF0ZWRfaW1hZ2VfaDA2MWxnaDA2MWxnaDA2MS1jb3B5LndlYnA/gemini_generated_image_h061lgh061lgh061-copy.webp | Google Gemini | 282 | 257 |
| /.cursor/mcp.json | MCP & agent configs | 28 | 14 |
| /copilot/.workspace | MCP & agent configs | 27 | 13 |
| /.mcp.json | MCP & agent configs | 21 | 10 |
| /.claude/.credentials.json | Anthropic | 21 | 10 |
| /CLAUDE.md | Anthropic | 21 | 10 |
| /.amazonq/mcp.json | MCP & agent configs | 21 | 10 |
| /AGENTS.md | MCP & agent configs | 21 | 10 |
| /.continue/config.json | MCP & agent configs | 21 | 10 |
| /.vscode/mcp.json | MCP & agent configs | 21 | 10 |
| /.well-known/mcp/server-card.json | MCP & agent configs | 16 | 5 |
| /.well-known/mcp | MCP & agent configs | 16 | 5 |
| /.env.openai | OpenAI | 7 | 4 |
| /.claude/settings.local.json | Anthropic | 7 | 4 |
| /.claude/settings.json | Anthropic | 7 | 4 |
| /.env.anthropic | Anthropic | 7 | 4 |
| /wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Y0FwohGuvTCuFXAIvjcryb6ApA0MIXFBRd3z46dN_1200x650.jpeg | xAI | 5 | 5 |
| /wp-content/uploads/2022/06/vTWs7bOzi4E1UXAiO5xWalIjmG0AtRvhlZd1MW8K_1200x650.jpg | xAI | 4 | 4 |
| /mcp | MCP & agent configs | 4 | 4 |
| /wp-content/uploads/2020/07/PNHYH6oL4Ckkl2VnZ6QyTPP9Tt53KmcPAo2p1L2D_1200x650.jpeg | MCP & agent configs | 2 | 1 |
| /storage/photo_uploads/784/U5vTKcVjz9nwvGn5EZu22nXL7eXaIcFOdyMBbDXk.jpeg | xAI | 2 | 1 |
| /storage/photo_uploads/336/F1ZyQi90tDo5tMcpXaD83cMaMfuOwzWBmUlt4ziF.jpeg | MCP & agent configs | 2 | 1 |
| /storage/photo_uploads/195/NFJIlpo8t6WcUU2fIKNr73Py1X2Mcpqc4lmULtz4.jpeg | MCP & agent configs | 1 | 1 |
| /storage/photo_uploads/646/ObrClcXAiYpz5jtI42SNAlJOFZmIK10mfiHieHVN.jpeg | xAI | 1 | 1 |
| /storage/photo_uploads/760/MTGQ2LomcpNQ6mYUceWu8GL34YQbzAaaNPZfqy4J.jpeg | MCP & agent configs | 1 | 1 |
Past editions
More from the edge
Bot Weather · Nov 11
20% of yesterday's traffic was scanners.
How much of yesterday's web traffic was scanners, as a weather report.
Fraud Desk · Nov 11
32,669 requests got turned away at the door.
Login stuffing, failed logins, and who got turned away at the door.
Most Wanted · Nov 11
Bots' most wanted file: /download.php
The files bots asked for most yesterday. It's usually your .env.
Cloud Landlords · Nov 11
81% of scanning came from rented servers.
Scanners don't own servers. They rent them. Here are the landlords.
Speedrun · Nov 11
New sites get scanned in 1,245 minutes.
How many minutes a brand-new website gets before the first scanner shows up.
Costume Party · Nov 11
57% of "browsers" were bots in costume.
Bots dressed up as Chrome, caught by their handshake. Plus the honest bots wearing name tags.
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