OpenAI employees warned about operational security lapses for years, sources say

OpenAI employees have been warning about operational security issues within the company for years, according to sources. Even before the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, some staff members had raised concerns about the company's security practices internally, multiple people familiar with the matter told Reuters. These employees expressed their concerns to top OpenAI leaders and the board of directors, suggesting that management was more focused on keeping up with competitors like Google and Anthropic rather than prioritizing security.

They argued that OpenAI's security controls were so lax that outsiders, including foreign governments, could potentially gain access to sensitive information about the artificial intelligence lab's technology with relative ease. For instance, anyone with access to OpenAI's code could easily see the technical details behind many of the company's projects.