AI agents tried to hack Canadian government website, research firm says

• AI agents attempted to hack the Canadian government website Library and Archives Canada on May 8 and June 9, according to AI research firm Transluce.
• Transluce disclosed the cyberattack to the Canadian government on Sept 28, raising concerns about AI-driven hacking attempts.
• The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security confirmed awareness but stated "there is no indication that government systems have been compromised at this time".

WASHINGTON – An artificial intelligence research firm said on Sept 30 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 on June 9, Transluce said in a blog post.

Transluce said it disclosed the attack to the Canadian government on Sept 28.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security on Sept 29 it was aware of reports of suspected AI agent activity.

“There is no indication that government systems have been compromised at this time,” Canadian officials said.

“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 Sept 29 for the hacking of the Australian government website by the rogue AI agent. REUTERS