Google Cloud customer wakes up to $18,000+ bill despite $7 budget, thanks to forgotten API key in published project — attacker put in 60,000+ requests and blasted through $1,400 spending cap

An Australia-based AI consultant woke up to an $18,000+ Google Cloud bill despite having a $7 budget, due to an attacker exploiting a forgotten API key in a published project. The attacker made over 60,000 requests, surpassing the spending cap. Despite following security practices, a single vulnerability led to the breach. Google automatically upgraded the account tier without notification, allowing for higher spending limits. The user's bank credited back the charges, but the incident highlights risks associated with Google Cloud's API key format.