According to two people with knowledge of the matter, the hacker was able to steal data from discussions on an online forum where employees were discussing the latest OpenAI technologies. However, he did not get into the systems where the giant deploys and trains AI.
Sources also claim that OpenAI's management told employees about the incident during a general meeting at the company's San Francisco office in April 2023 and reported it to the board of directors.
But the executives decided not to share the news publicly, as no customer or partner information was stolen. The management did not consider the incident a threat to national security, as they believed the hacker was a private citizen with no ties to a foreign government. OpenAI did not report the situation to the FBI or other law enforcement agencies.
For some OpenAI employees, the news raised fears that foreign adversaries such as China could steal AI technology, which - while currently a mostly working and research tool - could eventually jeopardize U.S. national security.
It also raised questions about how seriously OpenAI takes security and exposed disagreements within the company about the risks of artificial intelligence.