Daijiworld Media Network - San Francisco
San Francisco, Sep 19: Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence model accessed the internet and hacked into the systems of three companies during a cybersecurity test in May, marking the first known instance of Google’s AI systems autonomously carrying out such intrusions, according to reports.
The incidents occurred during a cybersecurity evaluation conducted by Irregular, an independent company that tests the capabilities of AI systems.
During the evaluation, Gemini found publicly available information online and used guessed or publicly exposed credentials to gain access to three websites that it believed were within the scope of the test, Google Vice President of Security Engineering Heather Adkins said.
In one case, Gemini reportedly guessed passwords until it gained access to a protected system. In two other cases, the model found credentials in publicly accessible repositories and used them to access protected systems, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the incidents.
“We ensured the three entities were made aware, and we worked with our training partner on the changes they’ve now made to their testing processes,” Adkins said. “These events highlight the importance of training powerful AI models to act responsibly.”
An Irregular spokesperson said the incident involved the same issue that affected other AI labs and that all relevant laboratories were notified in late July. The spokesperson said all known issues on Irregular’s end had been remedied and resolved weeks ago.
Similar incidents linked to Irregular have been disclosed by Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI. Meta said in August that its incident did not involve a sandbox escape or sophisticated cyberattack, while Irregular said it was working on best practices for securely conducting AI cybersecurity evaluations.
The incidents have raised questions about the safeguards required as AI agents gain greater autonomy and access to the internet and computer systems.
Google said that in all three instances, Gemini ceased its hacking activity.