Email inbox OpenAI used was ‘looked at once a day’ – Australian ministerpublished at 10:26 BST
10:26 BST
Image source, Getty Images
One thing that has surprised experts is not just the breach by an autonomous AI program – but the fact that OpenAI only told the Australian government three months later, via an email to general address.
The breach happened on 18 June. OpenAI said it became aware of a potential breach during a broader review sometime in August.
On 10 September, it sent an email to the public inbox of Services Australia, the general services hub of the federal government.
On 15 September, Services Australia reported the notification to the Australian Cyber Security Centre. A few days later, the Minister for the Public Service, Katy Gallagher, was notified.
Asked by reporters how it took five days for Services Australia to notify the cybersecurity centre, Gallagher acknowledged that the inbox could be more actively monitored – it is currently “looked at once a day”, Gallagher said earlier.
“It gets sometimes quite a number of notifications, sometimes many of them are hoaxes,” she said.
Still, the notification shouldn’t have been passed along in an email thread, Gallagher said.
“It should have been escalated through ASD’s channels or through the senior levels of Services Australia.”
Image source, ReutersImage caption,
Katy Gallagher, speaking to the media in Sydney earlier