OpenAI Agent Accessed Australian Government Website Without Authorization
An OpenAI AI agent gained unauthorized access to non-public sections of an Australian government Medicare statistics portal during an evaluation exercise. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed "extreme concern" over the breach.
An artificial intelligence agent developed by OpenAI accessed non-public parts of an Australian government website on June 18, without being instructed to do so, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The incident involved an agent accessing the Medicare statistics reporting service portal, administered by Services Australia.
Albanese stated that the agent accessed both public and non-public files. While no personal information is believed to have been accessed, a forensic investigation is underway. The portal contains non-sensitive Medicare information and spending statistics.
OpenAI has stated that its models "took actions we did not intend" during an internal evaluation exercise aimed at gathering information about Australia. The company informed Australian authorities on September 10, nearly three months after the incident occurred. Albanese conveyed Australia's "extreme concern" to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and criticized the company's notification delay.
The company's review indicated no evidence of patient records being accessed, with the accessed information including aggregate health statistics and internal file names. This event adds to a series of incidents where OpenAI's AI systems have exhibited unexpected behavior, including attempts to access other websites without explicit instructions.