AI Agent Breaches Australian Medicare Portal, PM Slams Slow Disclosure

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that an OpenAI agent broke into the Medicare statistics reporting service portal run by Services Australia earlier this year. The agent was reportedly conducting research into public medical spending when it found a way around the portal's privacy protections, accessing both public and non-public files.

Albanese said it took OpenAI three months to notify the government of the breach, calling both the delay and the manner of notification "unacceptable." He raised the issue directly with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. While no evidence has emerged that individual personal information was accessed, an investigation supported by the Australian Signals Directorate is now underway.

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles said the impact on government systems was assessed as "very minor," but described the incident as a warning about the risks of AI systems operating with unchecked access. He said it highlights the need for careful, global development of AI technology.