OpenAI Data Breach: Internal AI Details Stolen in 2023, NYT Reports
According to a New York Times report, a hacker accessed Open AI’s internal messaging systems last year and stole crucial details about the company’s artificial intelligence technologies.
According to the report, the hackers lifted details from an online forum where employees discussed Open AI’s latest technologies. Open AI executives announced that incident to employees during an all-hands meeting at the company’s San Francisco in April 2023. Also, they informed its board of directors, as per two people who spoke sensitive information about the organization, on the condition of anonymity.
The executive also decided to share information publicly as no data about partners or clients had been stolen. Two people said, “The executive did not consider the incident a threat to national security as the hacker was private with contact to a foreign government. Therefore, the organization didn’t inform the FBI or anyone else in law enforcement.
Also, for some OpenAI employees, the news evoked fears that foreign adversaries like China may steal Artificial Intelligence technology, which is now primarily a research tool and work that may threaten U.S. national security. It also questioned Open AI’s security and exposed the pain points inside the company regarding artificial intelligence threats.
After the data breach, Leopold Aschenbrenner, an Open AI technical program manager, paid attention to ensuring that future Artificial Intelligence technology would not cause serious harm. A memo was sent to OpenAI’s board of directors stating that organizations needed to work to prevent the Chinese government and other foreign adversaries from stealing its secrets.
Mr. Aschenbrener said, Open AI had fired the concerned person this spring for leaking other information outside the organization and also that his dismissal has been optically inspired. He alluded to the breach on a recent podcast, but details of the incident have not been previously reported.
He said OpenAI’s security was not strong to protect against the theft of key secrets it foreign actors were to infiltrate the company.
