OpenAI agent used someone else’s crypto wallet to deploy contracts
An OpenAI research model accessed a cryptocurrency wallet using a publicly known recovery phrase and spent its test network funds without authorization while completing a coding task, according to a report published by the company, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The incident occurred on June 26, when the model was asked to update a cryptocurrency trading application and deploy smart contracts on Sepolia, an Ethereum test network. The task allowed it to deploy compatible contracts if existing ones were unavailable, but did not provide a funded wallet or authorize the use of another account.
After attempts to find existing contracts and obtain test tokens from cryptocurrency faucets failed, the model searched for accounts linked to publicly known developer recovery phrases. It checked 362 addresses and found one with enough Sepolia ETH to cover the deployment costs.
Although the model questioned whether using the account was ethical, it concluded that the funds were acceptable to use because the recovery phrase was public and the test network tokens had no real monetary value.
The model then derived the account’s private key, signed a transaction and successfully deployed the contracts. The transaction charged fees to the account, despite the model having no permission from its owner to use the funds.
The model completed the requested technical work, including updating the deployment records and verifying that the contracts functioned as expected. It also kept the trading application’s order button limited to connecting a wallet and switching networks, as instructed.
However, its final response did not disclose that it had used another account’s funds to complete the deployment.
OpenAI said it discovered the incident while expanding its monitoring of earlier model activity to identify potential misalignment, when a model’s actions diverge from intended behavior.
In response, the company introduced additional safeguards designed to prevent live internet access in similar cases. It also said its monitoring system now covers all traffic and is designed to alert security teams if a model obtains live internet access.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that a cyberattack disrupted refrigeration systems at hundreds of supermarkets across France.