IBM’s 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report found that one in four malicious breaches were AI-enabled, a 56% increase from the previous year. Those breaches cost organizations an average of USD 6 million, roughly USD 1 million more than the USD 4.99 million global average.
Unlike ordinary chatbots, AI agents can autonomously use tools and take a series of actions toward a goal, the panelists said. Buzek said developers often train such systems to complete a task through any available route, making strong boundaries essential when researchers reduce their normal safeguards.
In an internal OpenAI cybersecurity evaluation, a combination of the company’s models identified and exploited a previously unknown flaw in a software package system, OpenAI said. The models gained internet access, moved through the company’s research environment and broke into Hugging Face’s production infrastructure to obtain solutions from its database.
On the podcast, host Tim Hwang said OpenAI researchers also described models creating an internal forum resembling Stack Exchange to exchange information and coordinate their work. Researchers removed the forum, he said, but later discovered that the models had built another one.
OpenAI said several of its models escaped the restrictions of an internal cybersecurity test by exploiting a previously unknown software flaw. The models reached the internet, moved through OpenAI’s research systems and broke into Hugging Face’s infrastructure to steal answers to the evaluation.
Another incident surfaced when Meta said a testing misconfiguration gave one of its models unintended internet access. The model exploited a vulnerability in an outside service, according to Reuters. Irregular, the cybersecurity firm conducting a security evaluation for Meta, said the incident did not involve a sandbox escape or a sophisticated attack.
