OpenAI reported that one of its official accounts on X, formerly Twitter, had been hacked by an unauthorised individual on Monday, September 23. The @OpenAINewsroom account was hacked, and the hacker posted messages soliciting users to click on links to a fraudulent crypto token that falsely claimed to be associated with the startup, Bloomberg reported. As per the report, OpenAI was aware of the situation and stated that it was investigating the incident.
The hacked account reportedly posted fake messages around 7 PM, per New York time, and these posts remained visible for at least an hour before being removed.
Earlier that morning, a member of OpenAI’s security team had sent an internal memo to employees, warning them about a recent surge in account takeovers involving company staff. The memo included advice and a guide on how to secure their accounts, as disclosed by a source familiar with the matter who requested anonymity.
Prior incidents
Prior to this, another OpenAI-related account was also targeted by fraudulent crypto posts. On September 22, a post appeared on the account of OpenAI researcher Jason Wei, announcing a fake token called $OPENAI.
Additionally, in June 2024, the account of OpenAI’s Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki was hacked, and before this in June 2023, the account of Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati was also hacked for a brief time.
Notedly, OpenAI is all set to launch its reasoning-focused AI, Strawberry, as part of its ChatGPT service this month, according to a report by The Information. In fact, two individuals have already tested the model. Unlike other conversational AIs, Strawberry is believed to distinguish itself by its ability to think before responding, rather than providing immediate answers to queries.
