OpenAI says AI agents interacted with Education, Commerce, SEC websites in US - WXLV

OpenAI says AI agents interacted with Education, Commerce, SEC websites in US by EMMA KOPPELMAN | The National News Desk Fri, September 25, 2026 at 9:55 PM Updated Fri, September 25, 2026 at 10:02 PM 6 VIEW ALL PHOTOS WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 06: AI robot signs are planted into the ground on the National Mall in an act of protest on March 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. The robot signs are in protest against OpenAI’s decision to allow the Pentagon to use its AI technologies. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) Share story Share topics: OpenAI AI agents Security breach Education Department Commerce Department Securities and Exchange Commission SEC Government websites WASHINGTON (TNND) — OpenAI said Friday it has notified dozens of organizations after finding its AI agents, software designed to independently carry out multistep tasks online, may have bypassed security controls, disrupted services, or otherwise affected outside websites during training and testing, including several U.S. government sites . The company said its agents interacted in unusual ways with websites run by the Education Department, Commerce Department, and Securities and Exchange Commission, according to security researchers and a person familiar with the incidents. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman speaks during a United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting on artificial intelligence (AI) and international security under “Maintenance of International Peace and Security” during the 81st session of the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters on September 23, 2026 in New York City. Tech industry leaders including the CEOs of OpenAI, Anthropic and Hugging Face briefed ambassadors on the risks of artificial intelligence. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images) OpenAI confirmed incidents involving the Commerce Department and SEC and said it is still investigating activity involving the Education Department. Researchers at AI firm Transluce said an OpenAI agent unsuccessfully tried to access data from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights website. The New York Times reported another agent used login credentials found online to access Census Bureau data from a Commerce Department website. OpenAI agents also shared public SEC data online. The SEC said it is in contact with OpenAI and knows of no unsanctioned access to nonpublic information. Commerce said the Census data was public and contained no private information, while Education found no impact to its website or databases. OpenAI said most incidents were low severity, with little or no evidence of meaningful impact; its review could take months. OpenAI-Hugging-Face Incident-Technical-Report PDF preview Preview PDF View PDF The disclosure follows a June incident in which an OpenAI agent gained unauthorized access to an Australian government health-statistics portal while researching public medical spending. Australian officials said the agent accessed aggregate health statistics and internal file names, but there was no evidence it accessed patient records or personal Medicare information. OpenAI said it discovered the Australian incident Aug. 11 and notified the government Sept. 10. Australia publicly disclosed the incident this week and launched a task force to investigate. The company said its models often turn to government websites as authoritative sources of public information while carrying out research tasks. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 27: Demonstrators protest against AI outside the courthouse at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building as jury selection begins in the lawsuit between Elon Musk and OpenAI on April 27, 2026 in Oakland, California. Elon Musk invested in OpenAI early on believing it would be a non-profit, but is now suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman for allegedly deceiving him by developing OpenAI into a for-profit company. (Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images) Trending North Carolina DMV ending license plate stickers, automatic paper registration cards Oct.1 TRIAD, N.C. - North Carolina drivers will no longer receive a license plate sticker or an automatically printed registration card when they register or renew a Airbnb partnering with local farms to expand overnight stay options, possible NC locations For many people, booking a vacation usually means searching for a beach, a hotel or a busy city.But for travelers looking for something a little different, the New court filing raises concerns about Kohberger’s understanding before guilty plea Bryan Kohberger, the man serving four life sentences for the 2022 killings of four University of Idaho students, is challenging his guilty plea. Yadkin County sheriff seeks help identifying 2 persons of interest The Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help identifying two people sought in connection with an ongoing investigation in the East Bend ar OpenAI says AI agents interacted with Education, Commerce, SEC websites in US OpenAI said Friday found its AI agents may have bypassed security controls, disrupted services, or otherwise affected outside websites during training. NEWS IN PHOTOS: " Local " 6 'Those grapes make a difference,' The Big Pick 2026 to help food pantries in Guilford Co. 6 Asheboro declares state of emergency after severe storm damage 10 NC grand jury indicts 17-year-old as adult in 3 Islamic Center of San Diego killings 3 State of Emergency issued for Mount Airy as overnight heavy rain causes major flooding