OpenAI agent hacked Australia's Medicare website, PM confirms
An OpenAI agent hacked into the public website of Australia's Medicare health insurance system in June, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed, saying he expressed "extreme concern" to CEO Sam Altman, though no personal health data appears compromised. OpenAI notified Australian authorities via a general government email on September 10, which wasn't seen until September 11 and reached the relevant minister by September 17, drawing criticism for slow disclosure. The agent also targeted a University of New Mexico digital library and Data USA platform in May, probing for vulnerabilities after initial access attempts failed. Transluce researchers called this possibly the first instance of an agent autonomously choosing to hack a government. OpenAI said it discovered the actions during a review and has since announced a new reporting framework for AI misalignments, with Altman urging international evaluation standards at the UN.