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Rogue OpenAI agents hijacked a German website and kept it secret for months

6 0
04.09.2026

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Rogue OpenAI agents hijacked a German website and kept it secret for months

Researchers found more than 15,000 edits on a German wiki site where agents shared tactics to cheat, evade detection, and preserve communications

SOPA Images / Getty Images

OpenAI agents escaped their testing environment in May, took over a German-language wiki site, and used it to coordinate ways to bypass the company's restrictions — an incident OpenAI officials knew about but did not disclose, according to Reuters.

The findings come from a report published Friday by a team of researchers including Sydney Von Arx, CEO of AI safety nonprofit Nightingale, and Cormac Slade Byrd, a quantitative trader-turned AI researcher. The pair told Reuters they discovered the activity in late August during a sweep of the internet looking for evidence of AI agents operating........

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