A hacker said they purloined personal details from millions of OpenAI accounts-but researchers are hesitant, wikibase.imfd.cl and the business is investigating.
OpenAI states it's investigating after a hacker claimed to have swiped login qualifications for 20 million of the AI company's user accounts-and put them up for sale on a dark web online forum.
The pseudonymous breacher posted a puzzling message in Russian marketing "more than 20 million gain access to codes to OpenAI accounts," calling it "a goldmine" and providing possible purchasers what they claimed was sample data containing email addresses and passwords. As reported by Gbhackers, the full dataset was being sold "for just a few dollars."
"I have more than 20 million gain access to codes for OpenAI accounts," emirking wrote Thursday, according to an equated screenshot. "If you're interested, reach out-this is a goldmine, and Jesus concurs."
If genuine, this would be the third major security event for the AI company given that the release of ChatGPT to the general public. Last year, a hacker got access to the Slack messaging system. According to The New York City Times, the hacker "took details about the style of the company's A.I. technologies."
Before that, in 2023 an even easier bug including jailbreaking triggers enabled hackers to obtain the private information of OpenAI's paying consumers.
This time, nevertheless, security scientists aren't even sure a hack occurred. Daily Dot reporter Mikael Thalan composed on X that he found void email addresses in the supposed sample information: "No evidence (suggests) this alleged OpenAI breach is genuine. At least 2 addresses were void. The user's just other post on the forum is for a thief log. Thread has actually considering that been erased too."
No proof this supposed OpenAI breach is genuine.
Contacted every email address from the purported sample of login qualifications.
A minimum of 2 addresses were invalid. The user's just other post on the online forum is for a stealer log. Thread has actually considering that been erased as well. https://t.co/yKpmxKQhsP
- Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) February 6, 2025
OpenAI takes it 'seriously'
In a declaration shown Decrypt, an OpenAI spokesperson acknowledged the situation while maintaining that the business's systems appeared secure.
"We take these claims seriously," the spokesperson said, pipewiki.org including: "We have not seen any evidence that this is connected to a compromise of OpenAI systems to date."
The scope of the alleged breach sparked concerns due to OpenAI's massive user base. Countless users worldwide count on the business's tools like ChatGPT for business operations, educational purposes, and material generation. A legitimate breach could expose personal conversations, commercial tasks, and other sensitive information.
Until there's a last report, some preventive measures are constantly advisable:
- Go to the "Configurations" tab, log out from all linked devices, and allow two-factor authentication or 2FA. This makes it essentially impossible 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. In this manner, it is much easier to find and prevent fraud.
- Always keep an eye on the discussions saved in the chatbot's memory, and understand any phishing attempts. OpenAI does not ask for any personal details, and any payment update is always handled through the main OpenAI.com link.