Last year, a hacker infiltrated OpenAI’s internal messaging systems and stole details about the design of the company’s AI technologies, according to a report by the New York Times on Thursday. However, the hacker did not access the systems where OpenAI, the creator of the popular ChatGPT, develops and houses its AI, the report mentioned.
Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI did not immediately respond to a comment request from Reuters.
OpenAI executives informed employees during an all-hands meeting in April of the previous year and also notified the company’s board about the breach. However, they decided not to make the incident public since no customer or partner information was compromised.
The executives did not view the breach as a national security threat, as they believed the hacker was a private individual with no ties to any foreign government. Consequently, federal law enforcement agencies were not informed.
In May, OpenAI announced it had thwarted five covert influence operations that attempted to use its AI models for “deceptive activity” online, heightening concerns about the potential misuse of AI technology. The Biden administration is reportedly planning to implement preliminary measures to safeguard advanced AI models like ChatGPT from threats posed by China and Russia, according to sources cited by Reuters.
In the same month, 16 AI-developing companies committed at a global meeting to ensure the safe development of AI technology amidst rapid innovation and emerging risks, while regulators are striving to keep pace.
