{
  "id": 19571671,
  "title": "OpenAI Fooled by Russian Pranksters Into Thinking They Were Speaking to Ukrainian Official",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/openai-fooled-by-russian-pranksters-into-thinking-they-were-speaking",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-11T23:53:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Intercept",
    "slug": "the-intercept",
    "url": "https://theintercept.com/2026/11/11/openai-ukraine-russia-prank-security/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Three senior officials from OpenAI - Sasha Baker, Caroline Zier, and Ben Crampton - were fooled by Russian pranksters into believing they were speaking with a Ukrainian government official. The duo, known as Vovan and Lexus, posed as Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service. Over a 17-minute video call, the trio discussed OpenAI's potential military support for Ukraine, including offensive capabilities. While the officials expressed interest in working with Ukraine, they also acknowledged the company's reluctance to engage in offensive uses of its technology. OpenAI stated they had investigated the authenticity of the call and concluded it was a prank conducted by individuals with a history of targeting officials and companies.",
  "summary": "“We want to have as deep a relationship as we possibly can with Ukraine. But it may not be possible to get to where we want to be straight away.” The post OpenAI Fooled by Russian Pranksters Into Thinking They Were Speaking to Ukrainian Official appeared first on The Intercept .",
  "key_points": [
    "OpenAI officials fooled by Russian pranksters",
    "Discussed military support for Ukraine",
    "Concluded call was a deliberate prank"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The successful deception of senior leadership exposes a critical vulnerability in how high-level tech executives verify diplomatic identities during sensitive discussions regarding military applications of artificial intelligence.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}