A hacker said they purloined personal details from millions of OpenAI accounts-but researchers are hesitant, forum.batman.gainedge.org and the company is investigating.
OpenAI says it's investigating after a hacker claimed to have actually swiped login credentials for 20 countless the AI company's user accounts-and put them up for sale on a dark web forum.
The pseudonymous breacher published a puzzling message in Russian advertising "more than 20 million gain access to codes to OpenAI accounts," calling it "a goldmine" and providing potential buyers what they claimed was sample information containing email addresses and passwords. As reported by Gbhackers, the full dataset was being marketed "for simply a couple of dollars."
"I have over 20 million gain access to codes for OpenAI accounts," emirking wrote Thursday, asteroidsathome.net according to a translated screenshot. "If you're interested, reach out-this is a goldmine, and Jesus concurs."
If genuine, this would be the third significant security occurrence for the AI company given that the release of ChatGPT to the general public. Last year, a hacker got access to the company's internal Slack messaging system. According to The New York Times, the hacker "stole details about the style of the business's A.I. innovations."
Before that, in 2023 an even simpler bug involving jailbreaking triggers allowed hackers to obtain the private information of OpenAI's paying clients.
This time, garagesale.es however, security scientists aren't even sure a hack occurred. Daily Dot press reporter Mikael Thalan wrote on X that he found invalid email addresses in the supposed sample information: "No evidence (recommends) this supposed OpenAI breach is genuine. A minimum of 2 addresses were invalid. The user's just other post on the online forum is for a thief log. Thread has since been erased also."
No proof this alleged OpenAI breach is genuine.
Contacted every email address from the supposed sample of login qualifications.
At least 2 addresses were void. The user's only other post on the forum is for a thief log. Thread has actually given that been erased as well. https://t.co/yKpmxKQhsP
- Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) February 6, 2025
OpenAI takes it 'seriously'
In a declaration shared with Decrypt, an OpenAI representative acknowledged the scenario while maintaining that the company's systems appeared secure.
"We take these claims seriously," the representative said, adding: "We have not seen any evidence that this is linked to a compromise of OpenAI systems to date."
The scope of the supposed breach stimulated concerns due to OpenAI's huge user base. Millions of users worldwide count on the company's tools like ChatGPT for organization operations, educational purposes, and material generation. A genuine breach might expose private conversations, commercial tasks, and other delicate information.
Until there's a last report, some preventive measures are always recommended:
- Go to the "Configurations" tab, log out from all connected gadgets, and make it possible for two-factor authentication or 2FA. This makes it practically impossible for a hacker to gain access to the account, even if the login and passwords are compromised.
- If your bank supports it, then develop a virtual card number to manage OpenAI memberships. By doing this, it is simpler to spot and prevent fraud.
- Always watch on the conversations kept in the chatbot's memory, and understand any phishing attempts. OpenAI does not ask for any personal details, and any payment upgrade is constantly handled through the main OpenAI.com link.
