Hackers reportedly gained access to OpenAI’s internal messaging system last year. According to The New York Times, they also stole design details for the company’s artificial intelligence technology. They stole details from discussions in online forums where employees discuss OpenAI’s latest tech. The report, citing people familiar with the matter, claims that the hackers did not break into the systems where OpenAI stores and builds its AI.
According to the report, OpenAI executives informed employees and the board of directors about the breach in an all-hands meeting last April, and decided not to make details public because no information about customers or partners was stolen.
The report also said OpenAI executives did not consider the incident a national security threat because they believed the hackers were private citizens with no known ties to foreign governments.
As a result, the San Francisco-based company did not notify federal law enforcement agencies about the breach.
But in May, OpenAI said it had thwarted five covert influence operations that sought to use its AI models to carry out “deceptive activities” online. At the time, companies developing AI had pledged at an international conference to develop the technology safely.
