The Shai-Hulud worm represents the first documented self-propagating registry-native attack in npm, exploiting legitimate credentials to automatically infect and republish packages. The attack succeeded not by breaking systems, but by leveraging the speed-optimized architecture developers built: install-time execution,
Table of contents
first, a word about ecosystemsSpeed first.Still optimised for speed.Open Source Security Doesn’t Work the Way You Think It DoesThis matters more than people realise.The Inevitable AI in the MixEnter Shai-HuludThen it pivoted.The defining shift.This Is Also What Cyberwar Looks LikeHistory should make us cautious here.None of this requires conspiracy thinking.Why It Was So EffectiveThis is why detection is hardGetting Practical: Without Pretending It’s EasyThese measures are just friction.The MirrorSort: