AI agent breached Australian government website, Deputy PM says

An artificial intelligence agent gained unauthorised access to an Australian government website in what Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles described as a serious incident, though the actual impact was relatively minor, he told News 25 Sunday Agenda.

The AI agent, acting in an unintended way, accessed the website while seeking general data on medical information and was told no for answers it was seeking, Marles said. "When told no, it found a way to circumvent some of the barriers that were there on that site," he said.

Marles said there was no evidence that personal details had been revealed as a result of the unauthorised access. The information obtained was not anyone's personal data but had already been made public, he added.

The seriousness of the incident lay in the fact that an artificial intelligence agent had gained unauthorised access in an unintended way to an Australian government website, Marles said. "This is the first time this has happened in the context of Australia and so we're not shying away from that," he said.

Marles said the government had raised concerns with OpenAI about the timing and manner of notification. He said the Australian government was not notified by email until 10 September and expressed concern about the fact the government was not told earlier.

OpenAI's actions were unacceptable, Marles said. The Prime Minister had made this point plain to Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief, when he spoke to him personally.

The incident occurred before Marles had met with Altman at the beginning of the month in San Francisco. At that meeting, they did not discuss the incident as there had been no notification to the Australian government at that time, Marles said.

The breach was one of several unauthorised accesses by OpenAI's agents, with the U.S. education department, commerce department, and securities and exchange commission also affected without the AI lab's knowledge.

Engaging with AI companies crucial

Marles said the incident should be treated as a significant warning about artificial intelligence. "This technology is coming. There is no putting your head in the sand," he said.

The government was working closely with OpenAI to understand every step the AI agent took in its interactions with Australian government websites, Marles said. He stressed that engagement with frontier technology companies was important and that safeguards and guardrails needed to lead the development of capability itself.

"The more we engage with it, the more we have a chance to lead the world and to be there to try and shape the technology as best we can, not to hide from it, because there is no hiding from it," Marles said.

The Australian Signals Directorate was at the centre of ensuring proper security across information held by the Australian government, Marles said. He expressed confidence about the security of sensitive national security information held by the government, which he described as being kept "inside a fortress."

Marles said he took concern from what occurred during the week but took heart from the words of technology company executives who had spoken to the United Nations about the need for guardrails and safeguards.

On Victoria Barracks Sydney, Marles said the site should be returned to Sydney residents and Australians. He said defence spending on heritage at the site competed with spending on capability to keep military personnel safe and defend Australia. "It is not my priority for Defence to be a heritage organ," he said.

Marles said most members of the Australian Army had never been inside Victoria Barracks Sydney, with infantry brigades stationed in places like Perth, Brisbane and Darwin instead. "Victoria Barracks Sydney should be liberated for the people of Sydney and for the people of Australia," he said.