A hacker said they purloined private details from millions of OpenAI accounts-but researchers are doubtful, and the company is investigating.
OpenAI says it's investigating after a hacker claimed to have actually swiped login credentials for 20 million of the AI firm's user accounts-and put them up for sale on a dark web forum.
The pseudonymous breacher published a cryptic message in Russian marketing "more than 20 million gain access to codes to OpenAI accounts," calling it "a goldmine" and forum.altaycoins.com using potential purchasers what they claimed was sample data containing email addresses and passwords. As reported by Gbhackers, the complete dataset was being offered for sale "for simply a couple of dollars."
"I have over 20 million gain access to codes for OpenAI accounts," emirking composed Thursday, according to a translated screenshot. "If you're interested, reach out-this is a goldmine, and Jesus agrees."
If genuine, this would be the third significant security incident for the AI business considering that the release of ChatGPT to the general public. In 2015, a hacker got access to the business's internal Slack messaging system. According to The New York City Times, the hacker "stole details about the style of the business's A.I. technologies."
Before that, in 2023 an even easier bug involving jailbreaking prompts permitted hackers to obtain the private information of OpenAI's paying consumers.
This time, nevertheless, security scientists aren't even sure a hack took place. Daily Dot reporter Mikael Thalan composed on X that he found void email addresses in the supposed sample information: "No proof (suggests) this supposed OpenAI breach is legitimate. At least 2 addresses were invalid. The user's only other post on the online forum is for a thief log. Thread has actually given that been erased too."
No proof this supposed OpenAI breach is legitimate.
Contacted every email address from the supposed sample of login credentials.
A minimum of 2 addresses were invalid. The user's only other post on the forum is for a thief log. Thread has given that been erased also. https://t.co/yKpmxKQhsP
- Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) February 6, 2025
OpenAI takes it 'seriously'
In a declaration shared with Decrypt, an OpenAI representative acknowledged the situation while maintaining that the company's systems appeared safe and secure.
"We take these claims seriously," the spokesperson said, including: "We have actually not seen any proof that this is connected to a compromise of OpenAI systems to date."
The scope of the supposed breach stimulated issues due to OpenAI's massive user base. Countless users worldwide rely on the company's tools like ChatGPT for company operations, educational purposes, and material generation. A legitimate breach could expose personal conversations, commercial jobs, and other sensitive data.
Until there's a last report, some preventive procedures are always recommended:
- Go to the "Configurations" tab, log out from all linked devices, and allow two-factor authentication or 2FA. This makes it essentially difficult for a hacker to gain access to the account, even if the login and passwords are jeopardized.
- If your bank supports it, then produce a virtual card number to handle OpenAI memberships. By doing this, it is to spot and avoid scams.
- Always watch on the conversations stored in the chatbot's memory, and be mindful of any phishing attempts. OpenAI does not request for any personal details, and any payment update is constantly managed through the main OpenAI.com link.