Thursday, September 24, 2026
OpenAI’s A.I. Tried Breaching 4 Other Targets, Without Prompting
OpenAI’s A.I. Tried Breaching 4 Other Targets, Without Prompting
“OpenAI’s artificial intelligence attempted or achieved breaches at the University of New Mexico, Data USA, and two Australian sites during data collection. Researchers and OpenAI confirmed the incidents; Australia’s prime minister reported nonpublic access to Medicare data.
In each incident, the technology appeared to be conducting mundane data collection and resorted to hacking techniques to get it, researchers said.
OpenAI’s artificial intelligence went rogue this year in at least four additional incidents, hacking and trying to break into government and university websites without being instructed to do so, according to researchers and government officials.
The attacks took place in May and June, before OpenAI’s technology breached the A.I. start-up Hugging Face in July and set off a global debate about A.I. safety.
Unlike the Hugging Face attack and other incidents in which A.I. systems were told to complete cybersecurity tests that effectively invited the models to demonstrate their hacking skills, the new incidents occurred when A.I. systems were directed to perform relatively mundane data collection, researchers said. When OpenAI’s systems struggled to gather data from websites, they resorted to hacking techniques to get the information.
Three of the incidents were identified by Transluce, a research lab focused on A.I. oversight, and all were confirmed by OpenAI. Here is how they happened:
OpenAI’s systems tried hacking a digital library at the University of New Mexico on May 25 and 26. The A.I. did not appear to succeed.
The technology targeted Data USA, a repository of public data about American employment and education, on May 28. This attempt also appeared to be unsuccessful, researchers said.
On June 18, OpenAI’s A.I. hacked an Australian government website, the Medicare Statistics Reporting Service, and acquired health data. Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, disclosed the episode on Wednesday.
On June 20 and 21, OpenAI’s technology tried breaching the website of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. No private information was obtained, Australian officials said.
The incidents added to a spate of breaches in which A.I. from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google has broken into other systems without human knowledge. The events have intensified a debate over whether A.I. development needs to be slowed to address the technology’s potential dangers.
Dario Amodei, the chief executive of Anthropic, has called for A.I. companies and governments to work together before the technology becomes too powerful for human control. But other executives, such as Jensen Huang, chief executive of the chipmaker Nvidia, have said such doomsday scenarios are overwrought. President Trump has said he does not believe A.I. needs to be heavily regulated.
The disclosure of the four additional incidents “adds further evidence to the idea that agents need to be dealt with carefully,” said Conrad Stosz, the head of governance at Transluce, which used public web traffic data to analyze the activity of OpenAI’s agents. Agents are autonomous programs that work to execute tasks for a user.
Mr. Stosz added that the Australian episodes were probably “the first instance of an agent autonomously choosing to hack into a government.”
An OpenAI spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the company had reached out to the University of New Mexico and DataUSA and had been in communication with the Australian government about the incidents.
“In our broader review, we’re continuing to prioritize the most serious incidents while expanding our work to lower-severity activity, including agents spamming websites,” she said.
She separately added that the San Francisco company had uncovered the Australia incidents during an “extensive review” of its A.I. models and found that “our models took actions we did not intend.” OpenAI’s review will take months, she said.
Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, said on social media this month that safety should be more important than enhancing A.I.’s abilities and that, without guardrails, society could “lose control of the future to A.I.”
Mr. Albanese said he spoke to Mr. Altman on Wednesday and expressed “extreme concern” about the hack. He said that “nonsensitive” data such as spending had been breached, but that no personal medical information had been involved.
(The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. The two companies have denied those claims.)
The additional incidents suggest that OpenAI’s systems have been trying to hack websites, databases and corporate systems for longer than was previously known. Transluce found web traffic from the agents as early as March and as recently as last Wednesday, indicating that the behavior started months ago and persisted after OpenAI began investigating the Hugging Face episode and other misbehavior.
In the incidents in May and June, the company’s A.I. systems appeared to be involved in data retrieval trainings, the researchers said.
For the attempt on the University of New Mexico library, the A.I. tried to gain access to photos of a historic tuberculosis treatment center. When it could not get them, it began probing the site for vulnerabilities that would allow it to break in. After not finding any holes, the A.I. sent what it described as a “flood” of 80 requests to the university’s server.
In its targeting of Data USA, the A.I. sent a jumbled query to the site for data. When that failed, the A.I. sent 12 probes for various vulnerabilities, but failed to find one.
“If you were to train a swarm of agents to accomplish some generic task and those agents are willing to resort to hacking, anyone who happens to have that information might be at risk,” said Mr. Stosz of Transluce.
The Australian government website that was hacked is a statistics reporting portal containing data on Medicare, the country’s universal health care system, which covers 27.5 million enrollees in addition to international visitors. The health system is often referred to as a “third rail” in Australian politics because of its wide support.
An OpenAI team was conducting internet research into public medicine spending, Mr. Albanese said, when its A.I. agents, after encountering repeated blocks, tried “alternate ways” to obtain the information it wanted and got into nonpublic parts of the portal. OpenAI informed the Australian government on Sept. 10.
“This is a new world we are dealing with,” the prime minister said.
He did not respond when reporters asked whether he had raised the breach with Mr. Trump when the two leaders met this week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Victoria Kim is the Australia correspondent for The New York Times, based in Sydney, covering Australia, New Zealand and the broader Pacific region.“
An OpenAI Agent Hacked Australia's Health Service. Their Government Found Out Months Later.
An OpenAI Agent Hacked Australia's Health Service. Their Government Found Out Months Later.
Australia is investigating whether an OpenAI agent broke the law after accessing Services Australia files in June. Prime Minister Albanese criticized delayed email notification and is forming a task force on AI threats.
The country's prime minister expressed disappointment at being informed of the hack only via email. Now Australia is investigating whether OpenAI broke the law.
Australia is investigating whether OpenAI broke the law after an agent hacked into its health statistics portal, in the first widely known incident of an AI agent hacking a government website.
The Australian government is reviewing whether it should involve the federal police after the agent accessed non-public files from the social and health services agency, Services Australia, in June.
Australia only found out about the incident when OpenAI alerted the government on September 10-almost three months after the hack-by sending an email to a public mailbox. Altman had reportedly not mentioned the incident when he met Australia’s deputy prime minister Richard Marles earlier this month, even though OpenAI had been aware since August. The company took “way too long” and the notification should not have just gone through a public inbox, prime minister Anthony Albanese said in a press conference in New York on Wednesday. There will also be an inquiry into why Services Australia then took five days to escalate the email to Australia’s Cyber Security Centre.
OpenAI’s agent had been conducting internet based research into health statistics in a development project by an internal OpenAI research team. When it could not access certain information, the agent attempted alternative ways until it found a work around and gained unauthorised access. It also wrote files to the internal server, which the government is waiting on OpenAI for more technical information on. The government is also investigating whether the agent gained unauthorised access to three additional government websites it interacted with.
“There will obviously be legal consequences on it,” Albanese said as he disclosed the “unacceptable” incident. He said he had spoken with Altman over the phone earlier that day about his “extreme concern” about the incident and “disappointment” with the nature and length of time the company took to inform the government. While Albanese did not answer whether he had apologised, Altman “clearly accepted that the company had not done good enough,” he said.
The Australian government currently believes no one’s personal data was accessed, though investigations are ongoing. The website in question is a public-facing statistics portal that contains non-sensitive Medicare information relating to data and statistics such as spending. It was therefore behind much lower levels of security than personal data would have been, Marles said in Sydney. “The impact of the incident is actually relatively minor, but this is a serious incident, obviously, and one that is completely unacceptable,” he cautioned .
A number of incidents over the summer, including OpenAI agents’ hacking of HuggingFace, highlighting the the threat of frontier model agents acting rogue were raised at the United Nations General Assembly this week, with Secretary General António Guterres welcoming calls to control AI. Altman himself had warned the United Nations Security Council earlier Wednesday about his concern that humans could lose control of these systems.
“It was a shock that it occurred, because it was real and serious,” Albanese said about the incident. “But it also, I think, was something that had been predicted, including by the AI companies themselves.”
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
The premium AirPods 5 are the best open-ear earbuds Apple has made
The premium AirPods 5 are the best open-ear earbuds Apple has made
“AirPods 5 offer open-ear design, ANC, and swipe controls for $149. ASUS Zenbook A16 ($1700) and A14 ($1000) use Snapdragon processors and Ceraluminum for power and lightness. HP OmniBook X ($1100) and OmniBook 3 ($600) emphasize battery life and AI. Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x ($1300) targets creators; IdeaPad Slim 3x ($900) allows upgrades.
The $149 AirPods 5 with Wireless Charging Case have great ANC and finally add swipe volume controls.
What sets these apart is the Snapdragon X Series processor inside. It keeps two dozen browser tabs, Zoom calls, and photo edits running at once without slowing down, and it powers the latest Copilot+ features, from summarizing a long article to captioning and translating a lecture video in real time. That’s the kind of freedom that makes a laptop worth the upgrade, giving you one less thing to think about so you can focus on the work itself.
The laptop for the power user who wants big performance without the weight. ASUS calls the Zenbook A16 the fastest and most powerful Snapdragon laptop. It handles intensive photo editing, gaming, and Windows’ most demanding AI features without breaking a sweat. What’s surprising is how light it stays despite the big screen. A 16-inch laptop this capable is usually something you leave on a desk, but this one weighs just over 2.5 pounds, so you can tote it around all day with ease. That lightness comes from Ceraluminum, a ceramic-and-metal blend that stays sturdy without the bulk. You also get a big, sharp OLED screen, more than 21 hours of battery, and a full set of ports, so the extra room to work never costs you the freedom to move.
The laptop for the person who’s always forgetting their charger. The HP OmniBook X runs up to 33 hours on a charge, enough to get most people through a day or two before they need an outlet. When it’s time to plug in, HP Fast Charge refills half the battery in about 30 minutes. The 14-inch 2K OLED display gives movies and spreadsheets plenty of room to breathe, and the built-in HP AI Companion can summarize your own documents in seconds. Meanwhile, the aluminum body is made partly from recycled metals and ocean-bound plastics, so it’s a bit kinder to the planet.
The laptop for the creator who wants a sharp screen in a slim package.At just 13.9 millimeters thin and a little over 2.5 pounds, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x slips into any bag, but the real draw is the 14-inch OLED screen. It has a resolution of up to 2.8K, so photos, video, and design work look crisp and true to color. A Snapdragon X2 Plus processor keeps everything moving while staying quiet, and the battery lasts up to 29 hours, so you can create wherever you are without worrying about scrambling for an outlet.
The laptop for people who are constantly on the go. Weighing under 2.18 pounds, the ASUS Zenbook A14 is one of the lightest laptops available, so it’s easy to carry around campus or through the airport. Don’t let the size fool you, though. The Snapdragon X Plus processor inside has the power to juggle a full workload, from a wall of browser tabs to editing high-resolution video, without slowing down. It’s also the first laptop built with Ceraluminum across the lid, keyboard frame, and base, a light ceramic-and-metal blend that shrugs off scratches and everyday wear. Add up to 32 hours of battery on a single charge, plus the full slate of Copilot+ AI features, and you get a workhorse that also travels light.
The laptop for the one who likes to tinker and save. The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x has a storage slot you can open and upgrade yourself, letting you add space later without paying a shop to do it. Its chassis meets military-grade durability standards, meaning it holds up to the daily wear that a 15-inch workhorse tends to take. A Snapdragon X processor runs built-in AI features, including handy ones like noise suppression that quiets your surroundings on calls. As a laptop you can upgrade instead of replace, it’s an easy way to get more years out of your purchase.
The laptop for schoolwork, budgets, and getting things done. The HP OmniBook 3 handles the basics with room to spare, from research to homework to mapping out the week. A Snapdragon X processor keeps things moving, and the battery is rated for more than 30 hours, enough to carry you from a morning lecture to a late study session. And with Qualcomm Wi-Fi 6E, the laptop can tap into faster internet speeds, so video calls and downloads hold up even when everyone’s online. It can also handle some of the busywork for you, with built-in AI that can summarize a long document down to the key points, while Otter.ai is included to transcribe and recap your lectures.“
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
The First Googlebooks Are Here, and They’re Everything I Need in a Laptop
The First Googlebooks Are Here, and They’re Everything I Need in a Laptop
“Googlebooks are premium laptops running Googlebook OS, integrating Android, Gemini AI, and ChromeOS security. Starting at $899, five models include Google AI Pro and 10-year updates. Chromebooks coexist for education and enterprise use.
And if you’re an Android user, they’re likely everything you need, too.
When it comes to my daily devices, I live in two worlds. For work, I use a MacBook Pro and an iPhone. My personal devices, on the other hand, are a Chromebook and a Pixel phone. Now that I’ve used a Googlebook and seen what it can do, I’ll likely swap out my Chromebook for one. That’s because, much like the MacBook and iPhone work well together, the integration between an Android phone and a Googlebook is absolutely fantastic.
What is a Googlebook?
Essentially, a Googlebook is a premium laptop running on Googlebook OS, which brings together Android, Gemini AI and the desktop functionality and robust security of ChromeOS. While Google Chromebooks and ChromeOS were made for life on the web, Googlebooks are about how we work today. They’ll let you seamlessly move between your phone and your laptop, while also giving you access to powerful AI-based tools. You’ll also have full access to the Google Play Store, including apps and games developed for mobile and desktop use.
When Google announced Googlebooks back in May, it didn’t say much about the actual devices. Mainly, just that they’d be premium laptops — a departure from Chromebooks’ budget-friendly identity. Check out the video below for a better look at the features of Googlebook OS and the laptops. Specs for the first five Googlebooks are also below.
GoogleYou can order the Googlebooks now, or you can wait until Oct. 4 when they arrive in stores in the US (Oct. 5 for Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Australia). Prices start at $899, but these are premium devices, so you’ll find things like high-quality materials, haptic touchpads, backlit keyboards, OLED touchscreens and Intel Panther Lake and Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processors.
Every purchase also includes 12 months of Google AI Pro, which normally costs $200 and comes with 5TB of cloud storage and Gemini Advanced tools. You’ll also get three months each of YouTube Premium and Adobe Photoshop, plus one year of Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud gaming service. And, like current Chromebooks, Googlebooks will get new features and OS updates for 10 years.
Dell XPS Googlebook
Josh Goldman/CNETThe smallest of the Googlebooks, the XPS has the same high-end look and feel as the XPS 13 Windows laptop, which is awesome. It’s a great design with a full aluminum body that weighs 2.2 pounds. However, unlike the Windows version, it starts at $1,199, not $799. The Dell XPS Googlebook is currently $999 at Best Buy.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
- 16 or 32GB of memory
- 512GB of storage
- 13.4-inch 2.5K-resolution touchscreen, 500-nit brightness
- Fingerprint reader
Lenovo Googlebook 15
Josh Goldman/CNETWith a beautiful 15.3-inch OLED touchscreen, the Lenovo is the largest of the launch Googlebooks. Made from magnesium-alloy and carbon fiber, it not only looked and felt good, but it was incredibly light for its size at 2.8 pounds. Pricing starts at $1,299, but the Lenovo Googlebook 15 is currently $1,099 at Best Buy.
- Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 3 (Panther Lake)
- 16GB of memory
- 256GB of storage
- 15.3-inch 2.8K-resolution OLED touchscreen
- Dolby Atmos
- Haptic touchpad
- Facial and fingerprint recognition
Acer Googlebook 14
Josh Goldman/CNETThe lone two-in-one in the group, it looks like a sleeker, slimmer version of the company’s Chromebook Plus 714. It’s also the only $899 model, though like the others, this is a limited-time offer at Best Buy. Made from magnesium and aluminum, it weighs only 2.5 pounds.
- Intel Core Ultra 5/7 Series 3 (Panther Lake)
- 16 GB of memory
- 256GB of storage
- 14-inch 2.8K-resolution OLED touchscreen
- USI 2.0 pen support
- Fingerprint sensor
HP Googlebook 14
Josh Goldman/CNETStarting at $1,299, the 14-inch laptop has an all-aluminum build and weighs in at 2.7 pounds. It’s certainly nice-looking, with a sturdy build, similar to the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 — one of our favorite premium Windows laptops.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
- 16 or 32GB of memory
- 256GB of storage
- 14-inch 2.8K OLED touchscreen
- Haptic touchpad
- Fingerprint sensor and Face authentication
Asus Googlebook 14
Josh Goldman/CNETAsus’ Googlebook appears to follow the design path of the company’s ExpertBook Ultra, a $3,600 business laptop. It’s a beautiful laptop with a body made from aluminum and magnesium with a ceramic finish that feels incredible and weighs just 2.2 pounds. Like the Lenovo and HP, it starts at $1,299.
- Intel Core Ultra 5/7 (Panther Lake)
- 16 or 32GB of memory
- 256GB of storage
- 14-inch 2.8K OLED touch display
- Haptic touchpad
- Fingerprint sensor
Are Chromebooks dead now?
The short answer is no, Chromebooks are not dead. For the moment, they’ll coexist with Googlebooks because they serve different users. New Chromebooks currently have 10 years of software support, and that’s not going away. Plus, you’ve got millions and millions of students using them daily, not to mention enterprise users. Given that Googlebooks are premium devices, it’s unlikely they’ll replace Chromebooks for education or commercial use anytime soon.
I’d expect ChromeOS development to slow somewhat over time, with at least some higher-end Chromebook Plus models eventually transitioning to the new operating system.
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