Startup Hacks OpenAI Using Anthropic's Claude AI
Startup Hacks OpenAI Using Anthropic's Claude AI
The News
A tiny San Francisco cybersecurity startup used a rival company's AI to break into OpenAI's systems — and got paid for it.
Hacktron flagged vulnerabilities in OpenAI's systems and was paid $6,500 for the discovery, Business Insider reported. Fortune reported that three researchers using Anthropic's Claude got into OpenAI and accessed its source code, collecting the same $6,500 reward.
The payment was a bug bounty — money companies offer outside researchers who report security holes instead of exploiting them.
Timeline
Forbes reports that security researchers hacked into OpenAI using Anthropic's Claude, and that OpenAI paid them a $6,500 bug bounty.
Business Insider reports the researchers work for Hacktron, a San Francisco-based startup, which flagged vulnerabilities in OpenAI's systems and was paid $6,500 for the find.
Fortune reports the team was three people using Anthropic's Claude, and that they accessed OpenAI's source code.
Reactions
Forbes framed the episode as a warning shot, writing that the incident "once again highlights the growing cybersecurity threats posed by advanced AI agents."
OpenAI's response was the bounty itself: it paid the researchers $6,500 under its bug bounty program rather than treating the intrusion as an attack.
What's Next
The open question is how much cheaper AI has made this kind of work. A team of three, using a commercially available AI model, found holes in one of the best-funded software companies on earth for a payout of $6,500.
Expect more scrutiny of what AI agents can do in the hands of researchers — and in the hands of people who are not filing bug reports.
Poll
Was a $6,500 bounty the right price for finding holes in OpenAI?
UMass Dartmouth Running Back, 18, Stabbed to Death
Trump Vows 'AI Force,' Czar; Polls Name Change
Sep 20, 2026
Iran Sends Trump Three Conditions to End War
Sep 19, 2026
Faulty AI Intel Nearly Started War With China
Sep 19, 2026
German General Breuer Elected NATO's Top Officer
Sep 19, 2026
Nobel Laureate: War, Sanctions Crushing Iranians
Sep 19, 2026
Dutch Police Disperse Violent Far-Right Hague Protest
Sep 19, 2026
GOP Midterm Odds Fade With 45 Days Left
Sep 19, 2026
Maher Rejects Tarlov's Claim Democrats Are Less Crazy
Sep 19, 2026
Patrick Clancy Breaks Silence After Ex-Wife Killed Kids
Sep 19, 2026
Trump Cuts Park Staff, Diverts Fees to DC
Sep 19, 2026
Holocaust Heirs Sue LA Museums Over Looted Art
Sep 19, 2026
Trump's Fed Chair Hikes Rates, Defying White House
Sep 19, 2026
Miller Drives Push to Deport Illegal Immigrant Children
Sep 19, 2026
US Lifts Sanctions on Eritrea's Military, Ruling Party
Sep 19, 2026
Air Force Admits US Has Space Weapons
Sep 19, 2026
Turkey Revokes License of Iran's Mellat Bank
Sep 19, 2026
Billionaire Ratcliffe Blasts Britain Over Immigration, Taxes
Sep 19, 2026
Navajo Nation Flash Flood Kills Three
Sep 19, 2026
Explosions Over Riyadh Trigger Saudi Air Alerts
Sep 19, 2026
Sep 19, 2026