Australia has launched an urgent review after an OpenAI agent “infiltrated” a portal of the government’s healthcare scheme, Medicare.
The agent, an autonomous computer program, accessed the statistics portal in June, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said while at the UN General Assembly. OpenAI became aware of the breach in August and informed Australia’s government in September via an email to a general inbox on September 10.
OpenAI said its “models took actions we did not intend” and that it found no record of patient data being accessed. However, Albanese said he told OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that the company took “way too long” to inform Canberra of the breach.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles said the government’s task force will explore “what the consequences are if there has been a breach of law.” “It is utterly unacceptable,” he told reporters in Sydney, adding that the incident “definitely does raise questions about whether the law has been broken in respect of this.”
The rapid review will examine whether existing legislation and governance are “fit for purpose to prepare for and respond to cyber incidents involving AI,” according to a government statement. Led by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the review will also look into information-sharing arrangements with AI firms and other Commonwealth countries.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the incident was an example where “big tech clearly feels like they can do whatever they like.” “We want big tech to take accountability. We want an unregulated industry to implement some basic safety standards here on Australian shores, and that’s what I’ll be trying to do when I introduce the digital duty of care in October,” she said.
This is believed to be one of the world’s first known AI-led hacks of a government website. Cyber-security professionals said the breach should raise alarm bells for leaders everywhere.
The incident comes as world leaders and AI firms themselves call for regulation amid fears the industry’s development is speeding out of control. Earlier this week, OpenAI’s Sam Altman called for international standards for the industry in a speech at the UN Security Council, while Dario Amodei of Anthropic warned AI could become a “risk to humanity.”
Twenty nations, including Australia and Canada, signed a joint statement calling for better safeguards, globally consistent standards, and an international regulator. But the US and China, who are vying for AI supremacy, are roadblocks, with both hostile to greater regulation and downplaying safety concerns.
