OpenAI agent breached Medicare portal, Albanese reveals

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed that an artificial intelligence agent developed by OpenAI gained unauthorised access to a federal government website in June, in what is among the first publicly reported cases of an AI-led intrusion into a government system.

Speaking to reporters in New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly, Albanese said the incident involved an OpenAI agent gaining unauthorised access to the public-facing Medicare Statistics Reporting Service portal, which is administered by Services Australia.

Public and non-public files

The prime minister said the agent accessed both public and non-public files. AAP reported that the incident took place on 18 June, while the agent was researching public medicine spending. The portal contains non-sensitive Medicare information relating to data and statistics, such as spending; Medicare is Australia's universal healthcare scheme.

"No personal information is believed to have been accessed at this stage, but investigations are ongoing," Albanese said. "Evidence currently available is there is no broader compromise to the Services Australia network. Nonetheless, this situation is obviously unacceptable."

A forensic investigation aided by the Australian Signals Directorate is under way to establish what other government systems may have been affected. AAP reported that the government is aware of three other systems that may have been impacted, including the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and departments in New South Wales and Victoria.

Delayed notification

OpenAI said it became aware of the incident only in August, during an ongoing review of "misaligned model activity", and informed Australian officials on 10 September, almost three months after the breach, via a public email inbox.

Albanese said he spoke with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman to express Australia's "extreme concern" and his disappointment that it took the company "way too long" to inform the government. "The nature of the way that the notification occurred as well was unacceptable," he said. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government learned of the breach "a couple of weeks ago" and that ministers were briefed last week.

A taskforce led by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, working with the Australian Signals Directorate and the AI Safety Institute, will examine how the incursion happened and what its impact has been. The government has also announced a review that will consider law enforcement and legislative responses.

Pressure on AI safeguards

The disclosure comes days after Albanese joined more than 20 other leaders in urging stronger international safeguards against the risks of AI. Altman and Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei addressed the UN Security Council on Wednesday in separate briefings on AI safety.