A hacker said they purloined personal details from millions of OpenAI accounts-but researchers are doubtful, and the business is investigating.
OpenAI states it's examining after a hacker claimed to have actually swiped login qualifications for wiki.die-karte-bitte.de 20 countless the AI company'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 using possible buyers what they claimed was sample information containing email addresses and passwords. As reported by Gbhackers, the full dataset was being marketed "for just a couple of dollars."
"I have over 20 million gain access to codes for OpenAI accounts," emirking composed Thursday, according to an equated screenshot. "If you're interested, reach out-this is a goldmine, and Jesus agrees."
If genuine, this would be the 3rd major security incident for the AI company given that the release of ChatGPT to the general public. In 2015, a hacker got access to the company's internal Slack messaging system. According to The New York Times, the hacker "took details about the design of the company's A.I. technologies."
Before that, in 2023 an even easier bug including jailbreaking triggers enabled hackers to obtain the personal data of OpenAI's paying clients.
This time, nevertheless, security scientists aren't even sure a hack took place. Daily Dot reporter Mikael Thalan composed on X that he found invalid email addresses in the supposed sample data: "No proof (recommends) this alleged OpenAI breach is genuine. A minimum of two addresses were invalid. The user's only other post on the forum is for a thief log. Thread has actually because been erased too."
No proof this alleged OpenAI breach is legitimate.
Contacted every email address from the supposed sample of login qualifications.
At least 2 addresses were invalid. The user's only other post on the online forum is for a stealer log. Thread has considering that been deleted as well. https://t.co/yKpmxKQhsP
- Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) February 6, 2025
OpenAI takes it 'seriously'
In a declaration shared with Decrypt, an OpenAI spokesperson acknowledged the situation while maintaining that the company's systems appeared secure.
"We take these claims seriously," the spokesperson said, including: "We have actually not seen any evidence 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 count on the company's tools like ChatGPT for organization operations, educational purposes, and content generation. A genuine breach might expose personal discussions, commercial projects, and other delicate data.
Until there's a final report, some preventive measures are constantly suggested:
- Go to the "Configurations" tab, log out from all linked gadgets, and make it possible for two-factor authentication or 2FA. This makes it practically difficult for a hacker to gain access to the account, even if the login and passwords are jeopardized.
- If your bank supports it, then create a virtual card number to manage OpenAI subscriptions. This way, it is simpler to identify and avoid scams.
- Always watch on the discussions saved in the chatbot's memory, and be mindful of any phishing attempts. OpenAI does not any individual details, and any payment update is always managed through the main OpenAI.com link.