An intruder was able to breach the internal messaging systems of OpenAI last year and download information on plans relating to the construction of artificial intelligence at the company, as disclosed by the New York Times yesterday.
The alleged hacker stole information from messages in an online discussion where employees shared information on OpenAI’s latest technologies, the report stated, it has learned from two sources familiar with the matter.
OpenAI managers spoke about the incident at the meeting with employees in the company’s offices in San Francisco in April 2023 and informed its board of directors, two sources familiar with the company’s affairs said, discussing sensitive information about OpenAI.
The cyber attackers were able to read those internal chats and may have obtained information on the design of its artificial intelligence products as stated in the report as covered by publisher.
Some OpenAI employees reacted to the news with concern that China could potentially weaponize A.I technology which at this time is mostly a work and research application, but could pose a threat to U.S national security.
It also raised questions about how seriously OpenAI was taking the threat, and it revealed tensions within the company about the dangers of artificial intelligence.
Executives of OpenAI did not think of the event as a threat to national security because there was no proof that the hacker had any affiliation with any foreign state, the report stated. The San Francisco-based company failed to notify the federal law enforcement agencies of the violation, it noted.
OpenAI in May claimed to have thwarted five dark web campaigns designed to exploit its AI models for ‘malicious intent’ across the internet – the latest safety issue involving the potentially hazardous applications of the new technology.
The chosen candidate will perform activities like obtaining licenses for contents, mapping business strategies, negotiating contracts, building and maintaining relationships with partners, assessing their performance, carrying out due diligence studies, and evaluating the technical feasibility of projects.
The organization recommended that the police should not be notified of the breach as the organization believed that the attacker was an independent party not affiliated with any foreign agencies.