AI agents tried to hack a Canadian govt website: Research firm Transluce

Transluce said the activity showed tactics similar to those it had previously linked to OpenAI, but the firm said it could not confidently attribute the latest attempts to the company

An artificial intelligence research firm said on Wednesday that AI agents tried to hack into a Canadian government website, casting the ‌effort as a failed hacking attempt, while Canada said ​there were no indications its systems were ​compromised. 

AI research firm Transluce said the attempts exhibited tactics "consistent with prior observed agent activity that we have attributed ​to OpenAI in a similar timeframe." But it added that it was not confidently attributing these attempts to OpenAI. 

The agents attempted to access Library and Archives Canada on May 28 and June 9, Transluce said in a blog post. Transluce said it disclosed the action to the Canadian government on Monday. 

 

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security ​said on Tuesday it was aware of reports of suspected AI agent activity. "There is no indication that government systems ‌have been compromised at this time," it said in a statement. 

"We do not confidently attribute these ​attempts to OpenAI, but they exhibit tactics consistent with prior observed agent activity that we have attributed to OpenAI in a similar timeframe," Transluce said. 

OpenAI said it was "aware of reports of OpenAI models attempting to access publicly available information from Canadian government websites." ‌A spokesperson said OpenAI was reviewing the reported ​findings and had provided an initial briefing to ‌Canadian officials conducting the government's review.

Governments struggle to keep pace with AI advances

The world's leading AI companies ‌have warned of the risks posed by AI to humanity, appealing for governments to work together to manage the ​increasingly powerful technology. Governments around the world have struggled to keep pace with rapid advances in AI. 

Free online service arquivo.pt, the national Portuguese web archive that is operated by ​the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, captured 899 requests hitting the "collection-search" service of the Library and Archives Canada, including a series of apparently failed rudimentary hacking attempts, on May 28 ‌and June 9, Transluce said. 

Several recent breaches globally by rogue AI agents have alarmed governments and companies.

Last week, ‌Australia said an OpenAI agent breached a government health data portal in June, gaining unauthorised access to files, in what was the first known instance of an AI agent hacking into a government website. 

OpenAI apologised on Tuesday for the hacking of the Australian government website by the rogue AI agent.