An OpenAI-developed artificial intelligence agent accessed an Australian government statistics portal without authorisation in June, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. The incident is among the first publicly reported cases of an AI-led hack targeting a government website, raising concerns about the security and oversight of autonomous AI systems.

The portal contained non-sensitive Medicare statistics, including both public and non-public files, but no patient records are currently believed to have been accessed. OpenAI discovered the incident in August and notified Australian officials on 10 September, which Albanese criticised as an unacceptable delay; Australia’s cybersecurity agency is investigating whether other government systems were affected.