OpenAI was Hacked But Never Told FBI

Hackers breached ChatGPT creator OpenAI’s internal messaging system in 2023–but the company never told the FBI, the New York Times reported Thursday. During the hack, chats between employers were accessible to the intruders, but not the company’s most prized asset, the code which it uses to build artificial intelligence. The hack prompted concerns that Sam Altman’s AI company could be vulnerable to intrusions by some of the U.S.’s foreign adversaries. According to sources close to the incident who spoke with the New York Times, the hacker was able to access a company forum where employees talked about the development of AI in April 2023. The hack was never reported to law enforcement. One employee, Leopold Aschenbrenner, raised concerns with the company’s board, warning that adversaries such as China might be able to access its systems. Aschenbrenner was later let go from OpenAI, a move that OpenAI spokesperson, Liz Bourgeois, told the New York Times was unrelated to his memo. OpenAI and other artificial intelligence development firms such as an Anthropic have commissioned studies on the potential national security risks posed by their systems being accessed, according to the New York Times.