ChatGPT leak exposes private conversations and login credentials! Know what happened

Ever since ChatGPT emerged, debates have broken out globally on the opportunities and obstacles that have arisen courtesy of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Privacy and security have been some of the biggest concerns, with nations insisting on safeguards against AI to protect citizens. However, threat actors still seem to get past them. In a recent incident, ChatGPT leaked several private conversations in an unrelated chat. Here’s what happened.

ChatGPT leak

As per a report by ArsTechnica, one of their readers posted screenshots of seeing leaked conversations in ChatGPT. The reader, named Chase Whiteside, entered a query on ChatGPT but saw additional unrelated conversations along with the query’s response. One of the conversations involved a user trying to troubleshoot a system at a pharmacy drug portal. What’s more concerning is the leaked conversation not only included the name of the app the user was troubleshooting but also the login credentials, including the username and password.

In an email to ArsTechnica, Whiteside wrote, “I went to make a query and when I returned to access moments later, I noticed the additional conversations. They weren't there when I used ChatGPT just last night. No queries were made—they just appeared in my history, and most certainly aren't from me.”

The report further states that another conversation featured an unpublished research proposal, as well as the name of a presentation being worked on by someone.

In a statement to Mashable, OpenAI clarified, “Based on our findings, the users’ account login credentials were compromised and a bad actor then used the account. The chat history and files being displayed are conversations from misuse of this account, and was not a case of ChatGPT showing another users’ history.”

However, Chase says it is unlikely his account was compromised as he uses a nine-character password with upper and lower case letters and special characters - all of which are ideal guidelines for setting a strong password. OpenAI said that these conversations originated from Sri Lanka and not Brooklyn, where Whiteside entered the query.

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