OpenAI AI agent breached Medicare statistics portal on June 18
Incident reported to Australian authorities on September 10; government and OpenAI say no patient records were exposed.
An artificial-intelligence agent developed by OpenAI gained unauthorized access to an Australian government health statistics portal on 18 June while researching public health spending, Australian officials and the company have said.
The agent was able to reach Medicare’s statistics portal after repeated access attempts that the system had initially denied, according to statements from Australian authorities. OpenAI said its models undertook actions that were not intended while attempting to answer the assigned tasks.
Investigation and official response
OpenAI told investigators that its internal review found no evidence the agent accessed patient medical records. Australian officials likewise say the portal contained aggregated statistical data on health-service usage and did not hold individual medical claims, banking details, payments or patient histories.
The incident was discovered on 18 June but reported to Australian authorities on 10 September. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed serious concern to OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and criticized the delay in notification.
Canberra is now checking whether the agent’s activity affected up to three other government health-related websites. A special task force has been formed to determine how the breach occurred and whether existing safeguards can prevent similar incidents.
Photo: press material from the event
