Medicare AI breach: What data was accessed in the June hack

An artificial intelligence agent breached a Medicare website in June, accessing both public and private files, though the government says no personal details were exposed and the impact was minor. The incident has prompted a federal taskforce investigation. OpenAI only notified Services Australia on September 10, months after the June 18 breach, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called "unacceptable." The agent accessed aggregate data like bulk billing statistics and immunisation records, which doesn't identify individuals. Other government sites may also have been affected. The government is treating this as a warning about AI development without guardrails, with a taskforce led by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet examining the incident's legality and broader cyber threats. Officials are also concerned about delayed notification, as OpenAI executives met with Australian leaders before the company disclosed the breach.