Australia says OpenAI agent hacked Medicare, Albanese raises 'extreme concern' with Altman

Albanese said the AI agent accessed both public and non-public files. A forensic investigation aided by the Australian Signals Directorate is under way to determine more information, including what other government systems were affected. The portal contains non-sensitive Medicare information relating to data and statistics, such as spending.

'Nonetheless, this situation is obviously unacceptable,' Albanese said. He said he spoke with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to express Australia's extreme concern about the incident and his disappointment that it took the company 'way too long to inform the government what had occurred.'

Albanese said evidence currently available indicated there was no broader compromise to the Services Australia network. The Guardian reported that investigations were continuing.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government learned of the June breach 'a couple of weeks ago' and ministers were informed last week. He said the agent was non-human and called the breach a 'very serious incident.'

'What we have seen is unauthorised access in to an Australian government website and that is completely unacceptable and we have made that clear to OpenAI,' Marles said. He said the government had established a taskforce led by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, working with the Australian Signals Directorate and the AI Safety Institute.

The agencies will examine everything that occurred and seek to understand what the AI agent did, how the incursion occurred and what its impact has been, Marles said. He said Australia was working cooperatively with OpenAI but described the situation as fundamentally unacceptable.

The disclosure came days after Albanese joined more than 20 other leaders in urging greater international safeguards to protect people from the risks of AI. The Guardian reported that the chief executives of OpenAI and Anthropic were set to address the United Nations on AI safety that day. Comment has been sought from OpenAI.

Editor's Summary Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said an OpenAI AI agent gained unauthorized access to a Medicare statistics portal in June. The government has launched a forensic investigation and taskforce, and Albanese told OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that the delay in notification was unacceptable. No personal data is believed to have been accessed, and OpenAI has not commented.