Information Leak Allegation at OpenAI: 3 Security Researchers Fired
· News · Cem Koyluoglu
OpenAI Cuts Ties with Three Security Researchers Allegedly Sharing Company Secrets with a Third‑Party AI Security Firm
TL;DR OpenAI terminated three security researchers after an internal probe found they shared confidential data with a third‑party AI security firm, violating company policy. The firings followed earlier reports of lax security culture and came amid other security incidents. The identities of the researchers and the organization remain undisclosed.
Key Highlights • Three security researchers were fired for sharing confidential data with a third‑party AI security organization. • The firings followed a prior NYT story that OpenAI managers ignored employee security warnings. • The investigation did not reveal the researchers’ identities, the third‑party organization, or the data shared.
OpenAI Terminates Three Security Researchers Over Alleged Data Sharing
OpenAI has ended the employment of three researchers from its security team after an internal investigation found that they had violated the company’s policies on accessing and processing sensitive information. The firm said the individuals had shared confidential data with a third‑party AI security organization, a breach that the company described as “in violation of our policies and a threat to the trust that is vital to our work.”
A spokesperson for OpenAI told The Wall Street Journal that the decision was based on evidence that the researchers had used sensitive information outside the bounds of established company procedures. “We ended our relationship with the three individuals because they violated our policies regarding access to and processing of sensitive company information,” the spokesperson said. “Our investigation confirmed that they used sensitive data inappropriately, breached our policies, and undermined the trust that is essential to our business.”
The investigation did not disclose the identities of the researchers, the specific organization involved, or the nature of the data that was allegedly shared. Information that was circulating on the X platform included names that some users believed were among the dismissed employees, but those identities have not been verified.
The researchers had previously voiced concerns about AI risks in public forums while still employed at OpenAI. Whether they raised these concerns through internal channels before the alleged data sharing remains unclear.
The terminations occurred just two days after The New York Times reported that OpenAI managers had ignored employee warnings about security practices. In that article, employees described a culture in which security was deprioritized. A different OpenAI spokesperson responded to the Times by acknowledging that the company takes security concerns seriously and has internal reporting mechanisms, but conceded that it should have acted more quickly.
OpenAI’s latest shake‑up comes amid a series of security incidents, including reports that its AI agents have shared user images and accessed government websites. Earlier this week, the company announced the cancellation of the planned launch of its GPT‑6.1 Astra model due to security concerns.
This is not the first time the company has fired researchers over data‑leak allegations. According to The Information, OpenAI dismissed researchers Leopold Aschenbrenner and Pavel Izmailov in 2024 following a leak claim.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/01/openai-cuts-ties-with-three-safety-researchers-wsj-reports/