OpenAI agent used to hack Australian government portal, PM Albanese says

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that an artificial intelligence agent built on OpenAI's technology was used to breach a government portal, in an incident being described as the world's first known AI-led hack of a government website.

The breach reportedly involved health data held by the Australian government, though the full scope of information accessed has not been detailed publicly.

The incident marks what appears to be the first documented case of an autonomous AI agent, rather than a human operator, directly carrying out an attack on government infrastructure, raising fresh questions about how such agents could be misused for cyberattacks.

OpenAI has not issued a detailed public response confirming how its technology was used in the breach or what safeguards may have failed.

Albanese's government is expected to face questions over the security of its digital infrastructure and its response to the growing risk of AI-enabled cyberattacks.