Australia says OpenAI agent hacked government website | CBC News

World Australia says OpenAI agent hacked government website Australia said an OpenAI agent breached a government health data portal in June, gaining ‌unauthorized access to files, in what could be the first known instance of an AI agent hacking a government website. The breach is one of the highest-profile incidents of AI agents accessing external systems outside the U.S. Thomson Reuters · Posted: Sep 24, 2026 4:56 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago Play Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles gestures during a press conference after it was revealed an AI agent developed by OpenAI infiltrated an Australian government website in June, in Sydney, Australia, September 24, 2026. (Hollie Adams/Reuters) Australia said an OpenAI agent breached a government health data portal in mid-June, gaining ‌unauthorized access to files, in what could be the first known instance of an AI agent hacking a government website. The breach is one of the highest-profile incidents of AI agents accessing external systems outside the United States, coming on top of several recent breaches globally by rogue AI agents that have alarmed governments and companies. OpenAI flags 6 new examples of 'concerning' AI behaviour Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the OpenAI agent gained unauthorized access to the medical ​statistics portal of Medicare, Australia's universal health insurance program, while conducting research on public medical ​spending. "Evidence currently available is there is no broader compromise to the … network. Nonetheless, this situation is obviously unacceptable," Albanese told reporters on Wednesday in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly. WATCH | OpenAI CEO tells world leaders to help guide AI's future : OpenAI CEO tells world leaders to help guide AI's future September 23 | Duration 1:37 Top AI leaders briefed the UN Security Council this week on the dangers of artificial intelligence. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, called for global safeguards while leaving standards up to individual governments. U.S. President Donald Trump told the UN that he rejects AI regulation. Investigations continue and Australia has voiced its "extreme concern ​about this incident" to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Albanese said, adding that he was deeply disappointed by the company's delay ⁠in notifying the government. "It took until Sept. ⁠10 before there was any notification at all," Albanese said, adding that the ‌investigation would also examine why government systems had failed to detect the breach in the first place. He also warned that three other government health-related websites may have been impacted by the OpenAI agent's activity, but did not confirm that had occurred. In a statement, OpenAI said its "review found no evidence of patient records being accessed." AI researchers 'earnestly believe' it could kill all humans within the next decade, Anthropic employee says It added that it "identified activity involving several Australian government websites and services as our models attempted ⁠to look up answers … our models took actions we did not intend." The AI agent breach adds to tensions between Australia and the largest U.S.-owned technology companies. Canberra has already drawn criticism from social media firms and Washington after introducing a world-first ban on social media for children under 16 and new rules that force tech ‌firms to let users switch off algorithm-driven content on their feeds. The Australian government has set up a task force to investigate the breach and check whether existing network security is adequate for preventing similar incidents. WATCH | Canada should learn from Australia's social media ban, observers say: Canada should learn from Australia's social media ban, observers say April 2 | Duration closed caption 1:58 As calls grow for Canada to restrict social media for youth, some observers say officials should learn from Australia's experiences, including how teens are getting around the ban. 'AI models attempted to look up answers' The breach was announced the same day the world's leading AI companies warned the United Nations Security Council of the risks AI posed to humanity, appealing for governments ​to work together to manage the increasingly powerful technology. Australia has faced a series of hacking attempts on corporations and government-linked firms over the past four years. Defence Minister Richard Marles said the Medicare portal that was breached ⁠did not contain individual medical claims, benefit payments, personal banking details or patient medical histories of Australia's 27 million people. Instead, the website holds only aggregated data ⁠on health-care use across the country, he said. However, Australia considered the breach serious. "There were blocks, clearly, which were coming back telling the AI agent, 'No.' ⁠The AI ⁠agent found a way around those blocks — didn't accept ​no for an answer," Albanese told reporters. B.C. government suing OpenAI for alleged role in Tumbler Ridge mass shooting The incident is the latest of several recent incidents in which ChatGPT maker OpenAI has disclosed hacks or unauthorized activity ​involving its AI agents well after they ⁠occurred. Rivals Anthropic, Google's Gemini, and Meta have also disclosed incidents of their agents accessing external systems. Maurice Chiodo, an Australian mathematician who works at Cambridge University's Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, said the breach appeared to be "a significant escalation in seriousness from similar incidents we have seen in recent months." He added that while there was a lot of talk of new laws around AI, policymakers needed to first consider enforcing existing ones, like those that criminalize unauthorized intrusions into computer systems. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices · About CBC News Corrections and clarifications · Submit a news tip · Report error Related Stories OpenAI flags 6 new examples of 'concerning' AI behaviour Canadian investigation launched into data breach that exposed millions of IDs AI-driven 'worms' that learn on the fly are the latest potential threat to your devices, researchers say Teachers, students file new wave of lawsuits against OpenAI over Tumbler Ridge shooting Canada is investing $150M to make AI safer. Will it work?