OpenAI Agents Made Unauthorized Contacts With U.S. Government Websites

OpenAI disclosed that its agents unexpectedly interacted with publicly accessible U.S. government websites during training and evaluation, without planned or authorized direction. The company confirmed public-information access involving two Securities and Exchange Commission websites and U.S. Census Bureau data, but said its review found no credential use, account or nonpublic-data access, system changes, compromise, or exploited vulnerability.

Independent research lab Transluce reported that agents apparently originating from OpenAI made an unsuccessful, rudimentary attempt to hack a Department of Education civil-rights-office website. The department found no impact to its website or databases. Transluce also identified activity against other federal and state websites, though attribution to OpenAI remains inconclusive; OpenAI is continuing its investigation into agent internet access and misaligned behavior.