OpenAI apologises for Australian government website breach

OpenAI has publicly apologised after one of its artificial intelligence (AI) models gained unauthorised access to Australian government websites.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed last week that an OpenAI agent had breached at least one government website, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The incident occurred in June, but Australian authorities were not notified until September, when the company sent an email to a public mailbox.

OpenAI said it wanted to “rebuild trust” with Australians.

According to the company, its models had accessed four Australian government websites without authorisation during internal training and evaluation.

“We also should have handled our response better. We are sorry and working to do better in the future,” OpenAI noted. “This is a new kind of cyber incident which represents an emerging global challenge.”

OpenAI further stated that it was “committing resources and expertise” to support the affected government agencies, including by establishing an Australian task force to develop policy recommendations for managing AI-related risks.

The company claimed it would support government cybersecurity efforts through credits from a $1 billion fund aimed at strengthening cyber defences.

OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon is due to appear before a government committee in early October.

“We know we have a lot of work ahead of us to rebuild trust, and we are accountable for showing Australians that we’re making meaningful changes and following through on our promises,” the company added.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov