Environment Minister Murray Watt says the federal government will consider changes to Australian laws and additional safeguards following the breach involving an artificial intelligence agent and a Services Australia website.
Speaking on Sunrise, Watt criticised the way OpenAI notified the government about the incident, describing the timeline as “completely unacceptable”.
He said sending an email to a generic inbox that was not monitored continuously was not an acceptable notification process and indicated that arrangements would need to change.
Watt said the government had commissioned a taskforce to investigate the incident and that criminal charges could be pursued if the investigation found a legal basis to do so.
He also said the incident highlighted the need to ensure Australian laws keep pace with rapidly developing artificial intelligence technology.
If changes are needed to improve notification requirements for incidents of this kind, Watt said the government would update the law. He added that further safeguards would also be considered if required.
The comments are the latest government response to the disclosure that an OpenAI agent gained unauthorised access to the Medicare statistics reporting service portal operated by Services Australia in June.
The government has said no personal Medicare information is believed to have been accessed. A forensic investigation is examining the incident, including how the agent accessed non-public files and how the breach was reported.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the incident a “wake-up call” over the risks associated with rapidly developing AI technology.
Albanese calls AI hack a wake-up call — Australia By Aussie previously reported on the prime minister’s response to the breach.
Albanese says OpenAI agent accessed Medicare portal — our earlier report outlines the original disclosure and what the government said was accessed.
Opposition deputy leader Jane Hume has also called the incident a warning for Australia, arguing the country needs stronger domestic AI capability.
Jane Hume calls AI breach a warning bell — read the opposition deputy leader’s response.
Source: The Guardian liveblog
