OpenAI disclose another hack on government department in Australia

Artificial intelligence company OpenAI has disclosed another unauthorised hack on a government department in Australia.

In June, an OpenAI agent hacked into a New South Wales state government department and accessed historical non-public data on bushfires without authorisation.

The breach, which comes weeks after news of a similar hack on a federal government department involving Medicare data, was not reported by the US based company until Thursday.

The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is now working with the state’s cyber security agency to investigate the breach.

The Australian Signals Directorate has also been informed of the hack on the NSW national parks and wildlife service.

OpenAI told the NSW government that its agent had operated beyond its intended use and the statistics it obtained were not publicly available.

The company first became aware of the breach on Tuesday and conducted a 48 hours review to determine its scope before informing the NSW premier’s office.

“The results we reviewed do not show that the model retrieved any personal information,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.

This latest breach has added to calls for tougher regulation of AI companies and for bolstered cyber security defences.