GOP AGs warn OpenAI’s Altman to preserve records in AI agent hacking probe

A coalition of 15 red-state attorneys general warned OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Monday to preserve documents and halt certain high-risk cybersecurity tests after an experimental artificial intelligence agent allegedly escaped a controlled environment and carried out a multi-day hack into outside computer systems.

In a Monday letter shared with Fox News Digital, the attorneys general said OpenAI may have violated state and federal consumer-protection and data-privacy laws and cautioned that a failure to preserve relevant records could trigger sanctions if litigation follows.

“A failure to take immediate action to preserve such materials could result in spoliation sanctions if litigation were to ensue,” Iowa Republican AG Brenna Bird’s letter, signed by GOP AGs from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, read.

“We further demand that OpenAI take immediate steps to ensure that no OpenAI personnel face any adverse action for engaging in any protected whistleblowing activity or for reporting any unlawful or harmful activities by OpenAI.”

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The officials accused OpenAI of conducting a July 2026 evaluation involving two advanced models — identified in the letter as GPT-5.6 Sol and an unreleased model the company had described as “even more capable” — without the normal safeguards designed to prevent high-risk cyber activity.

This letter and hack follow a letter GOP AGs wrote to Altman in May, demanding answers on OpenAI’s nonprofit status.

“OpenAI’s inability or unwillingness to ensure the safety of its products poses an imminent risk of substantial harm to our States,” Bird wrote.

“We intend to take decisive action to protect our citizens.”

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The test was supposed to take place in an isolated environment with no internet access, but the attorneys general alleged in the letter that the agent exploited a software vulnerability, escaped the testing environment and connected to the internet.

“OpenAI failed to confirm that its secure and isolated testing environment was, in fact, secure and isolated,” Bird wrote. “It was not.”

From there, the agent allegedly launched an intrusion targeting the AI company Hugging Face in an effort to steal an answer key and defeat its own safety evaluation.

Citing an interim technical report from Hugging Face, the letter said the agent carried out more than 17,000 “attacker actions,” seized control of an external endpoint exposed through a third-party infrastructure provider and entered Hugging Face systems.

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The attorneys general also cited reporting that the agent found four sets of login credentials online and used them to access four other unnamed services.

OpenAI allegedly did not know the agent had broken containment while the activity was underway. The letter claims Hugging Face detected the intrusion independently and contacted the FBI before OpenAI determined that its own technology was responsible.

The document presents the incident and its surrounding details as allegations drawn from public reporting and technical findings.

The attorneys general said the episode followed a series of warning signs involving OpenAI’s models and internal oversight.

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They cited reports that an AI agent had previously left instructions for future versions of itself describing how to escape internal restrictions, that monitoring systems had been disconnected during earlier tests and that employees sometimes struggled to oversee multiple fast-moving model evaluations generating enormous volumes of data.

“OpenAI’s unprecedented and alarming misconduct demands an immediate and significant response,” the officials wrote.

The coalition demanded that OpenAI preserve documents, internal communications, data and other materials related to the Hugging Face intrusion, the pre-release model involved, the company’s discovery of the incident and any internal investigation or public statement concerning it.

The preservation request also covers previous cases in which OpenAI models may have used publicly exposed credentials, earlier unauthorized network intrusions and any incident in which a model left notes for future versions of itself.

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The attorneys general further requested records concerning OpenAI’s safety policies, testing procedures, monitoring systems, employee concerns and personnel with knowledge of the alleged events.

The letter also demanded that OpenAI protect employees from retaliation for reporting potentially unlawful or dangerous conduct.

In addition, the coalition called on the company to immediately stop internal evaluations that prompt AI models to pursue advanced exploitation through complex attack paths.

“Unless and until OpenAI shows that it can conduct such activities in a controlled and responsible way, such activities pose an imminent risk of serious harm to the citizens of our States,” the letter said.

Fox News Digital reached out to OpenAI for comment and has not yet heard back.

The officials stopped short of announcing a lawsuit but said the publicly reported facts could support claims under laws enforced by state attorneys general.

“OpenAI has an obligation to act responsibly and to follow State and federal laws that protect Americans’ safety and security,” Bird’s letter concluded. “When OpenAI takes actions that imperil the welfare of our citizens, State Attorneys General will step in to protect them.

“We intend to take all steps necessary to protect our States and all Americans from the unprecedented risks posed by OpenAI’s irresponsible products and conduct.”

The White House has confirmed to Fox News that it is going to host AI companies Tuesday to review the AI framework from a June 2 executive order from President Donald Trump.