AI agents targeted Canadian government website in failed hacking attempts

Researchers say artificial intelligence agents tried to hack a Canadian government website twice this year without success. Authorities confirmed the suspicious activity but said no government systems appeared to have been affected.

The attempts were made at Library and Archives Canada on May 28 and June 9 according to AI research lab Transluce. The activity led to 899 requests to the agency’s online collection-search service and some of them showed what researchers called “rudimentary” hacking attempts, Reuters reported.

The agents appeared to be seeking publicly available information on Canadian divorce records from 1905 to 1911, Transluce said. The research team said it found no evidence the agents accessed non-public information.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security confirmed reports of suspected AI agent activity against government websites.

“There is no indication that government systems have been compromised at this time,” the agency said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Transluce said it could not definitively tie the Canadian attempts to OpenAI, but it did find tactics consistent with activity previously tied to the company.

OpenAI said it was reviewing the findings and had briefed Canadian officials.