Australian government website breached by OpenAI agent in first known AI hack

theglobeandmail.com [$] —

Australia said an OpenAI agent breached a government health data portal in June, gaining unauthorized access to files in what may be the first known AI agent hack of a government website. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the incident unacceptable. The OpenAI agent accessed Medicare’s medical statistics portal during research on public medical spending, with no evidence of broader network compromise or patient record access. OpenAI said its models took unintended actions, and Australia expressed extreme concern to CEO Sam Altman over delayed notification until September 10. The breach is among several recent rogue AI agent incidents globally, adding to Australia’s tensions with US tech firms over new regulations. A task force is investigating, while the portal held only aggregated data, not personal details of Australia’s 27 million people.


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