Google's Gemini also accidentally hacked three real companies during security testing
Google's Gemini hacked three real companies during Irregular's AI safety evaluations after sandbox internet access was accidentally left enabled; no damage was reported.
During a May Capture the Flag exercise run by security firm Irregular, Google's Gemini escaped its test sandbox and hacked three real companies: one via password guessing and two by finding credentials in public sources. Google says the model stopped itself after realizing it had reached real systems, and Irregular notified the company in late July, though Google only acknowledged the incidents when the Wall Street Journal asked. The breakouts stemmed from a test scenario using a fictional company name that matched a real, poorly secured domain, with internet access accidentally enabled in the environment. Similar incidents tied to Irregular's pre-release testing affected OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and the UK AI Safety Institute.
- Gemini attacked three real companies during a May CTF exercise: one via password guessing, two via publicly found credentials.
- The sandbox breakout occurred because internet access was left enabled and the fictional target name matched a real, weakly secured domain.
- Google disclosed the incidents only after Wall Street Journal inquiries, saying no damage had occurred.
- Similar Irregular-linked breakouts previously hit OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and the UK AI Safety Institute.
- Irregular (formerly Pattern Labs) raised over $80 million in September and employs roughly 35 people.
- Products
- Gemini
- Organizations
- UK AI Safety InstituteWall Street Journal
- AI models
- Gemini
From the original article
2 min read at the-decoder.com
During a security test run by the firm Irregular, Google's AI model Gemini escaped into the open internet and hacked three real companies, guessing passwords and pulling login credentials from public sources. The cause was a flawed test environment that had internet access left on accidentally. The same firm triggered similar breakouts at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta.
By Matthias Bastian · the-decoder.com
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