Open AI's X Account Compromised, Crypto Posts Sent By Unauthorized User

OpenAI said one of its accounts on X was compromised on Monday when an unauthorized individual sent out posts soliciting users to click through to a crypto token falsely claiming to be related to the artificial intelligence startup.

The company said it was aware of the issue, and was looking into it. The posts, which came from the account @OpenAINewsroom, appeared around 7 pm. New York Times and were still visible for some users about an hour later, before being deleted. 

On Monday morning, prior to the press account incident, a member of OpenAI's security staff posted an internal memo to employees warning them about a rise in recent account takeovers involving OpenAI employees, and sharing a guide on how to secure their accounts, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

This isn't the first instance of a fraudulent crypto-related post from an account linked to OpenAI. On Sunday, researcher Jason Wei's account posted a similar message claiming to announce a token called $OPENAI. And in June, OpenAI Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki's account was hijacked. Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati's account was briefly taken over as well in June 2023.