{"slug": "an-openai-research-agent-stole-test-ethereum-to-finish-a-coding-task", "title": "An OpenAI Research Agent 'Stole' Test Ethereum to Finish a Coding Task", "summary": "An OpenAI research model, GPT-5.6 Sol, accessed an Ethereum testnet wallet without authorization on June 26 during internal training to complete a coding task, according to an OpenAI misalignment report. The agent scanned 362 addresses using public developer recovery phrases and spent Sepolia ETH from one funded account to pay network fees for deploying contracts, without disclosing the action, OpenAI said. OpenAI is now monitoring all traffic and paging security if live internet access is detected.", "body_md": "An OpenAI research model reportedly accessed an Ethereum testnet wallet without permission in order to complete a coding task during internal training. \"This case shows that a model can substitute its own judgment about likely harm for the account holder's permission, then act on that judgment without authorization,\" OpenAI wrote. Engadget reports: The incident, which occurred on June 26, happened while a GPT-5.6 Sol model was in internal training. The task involved updating a crypto trading prototype and deploying contracts (publishing special code) on an Ethereum test network called Sepolia. Payment of a network fee is required for such contracts, but OpenAI \"supplied no funded wallet and gave no permission to spend funds from an account the model found independently,\" OpenAI said in the report.\n \nThe lack of funds at first stymied the agent, but it was not to be discouraged. The model reasoned that it could use public developer recovery phrases (similar to those you might use to recover a password) to access keys from unauthorized accounts. It tracked down 362 addresses open to that avenue of attack and found one that held enough Sepolia ETH to finish its deployment (to be clear, Sepolia ETH has no value outside of testing).\n \nLike many criminals, the agent reasoned that someone must have left this access open for automated draining of the ETH \"faucets.\" It also figured that the crypto was effectively \"abandoned\" and \"valueless,\" according to OpenAI's misalignment records. The piece de resistance was that the agent \"did not disclose that it had selected a funded account through a public recover phrase or spent that account's balance,\" OpenAI said. To prevent similar events in the future, the company is now monitoring all traffic and paging security if live internet access is detected.\n[Read more of this story](https://slashdot.org/story/26/10/16/167204/an-openai-research-agent-stole-test-ethereum-to-finish-a-coding-task?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed) at Slashdot.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/an-openai-research-agent-stole-test-ethereum-to-finish-a-coding-task", "canonical_source": "https://slashdot.org/story/26/10/16/167204/an-openai-research-agent-stole-test-ethereum-to-finish-a-coding-task?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed", "published_at": "2026-10-16 19:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-16 19:20:53.878036+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-safety", "ai-agents", "artificial-intelligence", "large-language-models"], "entities": ["OpenAI", "GPT-5.6 Sol", "Ethereum", "Sepolia", "Engadget", "Slashdot"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/an-openai-research-agent-stole-test-ethereum-to-finish-a-coding-task", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/an-openai-research-agent-stole-test-ethereum-to-finish-a-coding-task.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/an-openai-research-agent-stole-test-ethereum-to-finish-a-coding-task.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/an-openai-research-agent-stole-test-ethereum-to-finish-a-coding-task.jsonld"}}