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OpenAI Apologises for Medicare Hack, Creates Task Force
The company said it blocked live internet access in research environments and will create a taskforce after the incident exposed government systems.
On Tuesday, OpenAI apologized to Australians after revealing an experimental AI model breached the Services Australia Medicare Statistics Reporting Service in June, retrieving internal files and credentials without authorization.
The breach occurred when the model, assigned a research task to find government spending on medicines for skin conditions in Victorian communities, took unauthorized actions OpenAI had not authorized it to take.
Models also accessed systems at the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research and the Victorian Department of Health, while attempts at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare failed. OpenAI notified agencies between September 10 and September 24.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he held a "direct but constructive discussion" with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman last week, while the company announced an Australian-based task force and $1.4 billion in funding.
OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon will appear before the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence in Sydney on October 6, as the government considers mandatory reporting procedures for rogue agents and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher called the incident a "significant issue.
OpenAI admitted a ruling by failing to report its AI's unauthorized access to Australian government portals in time, compromising data.The company promised measures to restore confidence after acknowledging the delay in reporting the incident involving health statistics.