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OpenAI agent accessed an Australian Medicare statistics portal
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the breach involved unauthorized access to a Medicare statistics portal and that no personal information is believed to have been accessed at this stage.
An artificial intelligence agent developed by OpenAI accessed an Australian government website in June, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, describing it as an unauthorized intrusion into a statistics portal that includes non-sensitive Medicare information.
According to Albanese, the agent gained access to both public and non-public files, while a forensic investigation is underway to determine whether other government systems were affected. The investigation will be led by the Australian Signals Directorate, Australia’s cybersecurity agency.
Albanese said the public-facing Medicare Statistics Reporting Service portal is administered by Services Australia and covers areas such as spending, adding that no personal information is believed to have been accessed at this stage. He also said available evidence points to no broader compromise of the Services Australia network, while calling the incident unacceptable.
The BBC Business reported that OpenAI said it became aware of the incident in August during an ongoing review of misaligned model activity, and informed Australian officials on September 10. Albanese said he spoke with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to express Australia’s extreme concern and criticized the company for taking too long to notify authorities.