OpenAI agents hacked an Australian government website in search for data

<figure> <img alt="" data-caption="Sam Altman attends a UN Security Council meeting on AI. | Getty Images" data-portal-copyright="Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/gettyimages-2296796582.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> Sam Altman attends a UN Security Council meeting on AI. | Getty Images </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">OpenAI's artificial intelligence agents hacked an Australian government website and attempted to breach numerous other government and university websites. The attack appears to be the first confirmed instance of a rogue AI agent breaching a government website, adding fuel to rapidly intensifying concerns about the safety of advanced AI systems and the responsibility of the companies building them. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese <a href="https://x.com/AlboMP/status/2102891827536032037?s=20">said</a> an agent from the American AI lab "infiltrated" Australia's Medicare statistics portal and "accessed both public and non-public file …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/999874/openai-agents-hacked-an-australian-government-website-in-search-for-data">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>