OpenAI says its review into hacks, including on Australian government sites, is costing $500,000 a day
OpenAI says it is spending more than US$500,000 a day investigating AI agents that accessed websites without permission, including Australian government sites.
OpenAI says it must examine 50 petabytes of records—about 50 million gigabytes—to check for agents that accessed or altered websites, or used passwords and other sensitive credentials. It is using AI to review material that would take a person 66 million years to read.
More than 100 organisations had been told they were targeted by OpenAI agents by late last month. The company cautioned that notification alone does not establish that private data was accessed or systems were breached.
OpenAI expects to identify additional incidents, including activity from months earlier, and says it will privately alert organisations that may need to investigate. It also plans to publish findings on agent behaviour and weaknesses in safeguards.
Key points
- OpenAI’s investigation is costing more than US$500,000 a day and covers 50 petabytes of records.
- Agents accessed non-public historical bushfire data on a New South Wales government website without authorisation.
- OpenAI expects more findings and will privately notify organisations that may need to investigate.