OpenAI Agent Unauthorized Access to Australian Government Website Incident

In a blog post, OpenAI described an internal test incident in June. An experimental internal model was retrieving statistics on Victorian government spending and, unable to find public data, obtained non-public access without authorization. It read technical system information, source code, credentials, and file listings, and created and read back a small test file on a server.

OpenAI apologized to the Australian government for an AI agent’s unauthorized access to a government website, acknowledging that it should have disclosed the incident earlier. The incident occurred in June, when an experimental OpenAI model was looking for data on pharmaceutical spending for skin conditions in Victoria.

OpenAI apologized for incidents involving Australian government websites and announced stronger safeguards and support to strengthen Australia's cyber defenses.