Monash experts: Medicare and other Australian government sites hacked by OpenAI agent

Monash University Media Release 

Monash University cybersecurity experts comment on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s revelation that an OpenAI agent accessed Medicare data and other Australian government websites earlier this year.

Professor Yang Xiang, Department of Software Systems and Cybersecurity, in the Faculty of Information Technology says:

“An OpenAI agent’s unauthorised access to Australia’s Medicare statistics portal in June is a serious warning about the risks of agentic AI. 

“This kind of intrusion and access actioned by an AI agent is significantly different from a scenario where a human hacker orchestrates a cyberattack. An AI agent has the capability of trying to ‘unlock’ a virtual ‘locked door’ numerous times in a short period and potentially breaking in. 

“There is currently no evidence that personal information was accessed, but the breach still matters. A legitimate task does not justify unauthorised actions. An AI agent must treat a locked door as a limit to respect, not a puzzle to solve. 

“The delayed response also shows how far our defences have to go. Agent behaviour can be difficult to monitor and audit at scale. Protecting public systems will require better detection of AI agent activity, tighter limits on what agents can access, and faster incident reporting. 

“Agentic AI can be enormously useful, but it must be used responsibly. That is why trustworthy AI is no longer optional.”

Professor Nigel Phair, also of Department of Software Systems and Cybersecurity, in the Faculty of Information Technology says:

“As reported, the use of an OpenAI agent to gain access to a number of Australian government information websites is concerning. 

“While we have been told there has been no access to personally identifiable information, it appears sensitive information has been accessed. We need to understand how this happened, who directed the AI agent to undertake such access, and why.

“Organisations need to rapidly understand how malicious actors will use AI to gain unauthorised access to computer systems and applications, and double-down on their efforts to discover vulnerabilities and patch them accordingly.”