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Major disruptions in the operations of the popular AI chatbot have been reported all over the world
The popular AI chatbot ChatGPT– suffered a major operational failure on Thursday. A group of hackers then claimed responsibility for the disruption, adding that the software, developed by US-based OpenAI, was supposedly used by Kiev’s forces to track Moscow’s troops, Russian news outlet Mash reported on its Telegram channel.
People seeking to access the ChatGPT servers started encountering a “bad gateway error” on Thursday, some of them unable to access the chatbot for hours. Reports about the disruptions came from various countries, according to multiple media reports.
The website Downdetector, which tracks issues with various websites and services, reported a peak in ChatGPT outages around 3pm Moscow time (12 noon GMT), with reports coming in by the thousands at that time. According to the tracker, the problem has gradually subsided since then.
OpenAI acknowledged the issue on its website, saying it was “experiencing elevated error rates for ChatGPT” and was “investigating” the issue. About three hours after the first disruption reports, the company said it had implemented “a fix” and was monitoring the results.
According to Mash, ChatGPT was targeted by “Russian hackers from the 22c group,” who also worked together with another hacker using the nickname PalachPro, who reportedly confirmed that attack to the Mash Telegram channel.
The hackers targeted the chatbot because it was supposedly being used by the Ukrainian military, PalachPro told Mash. Kiev’s forces allegedly used its AI to process satellite images and track Russian forces, the hacker claimed.
Neither the Ukrainian or the Russian side has commented on the allegations. The identities of the 22c members also remain unclear, although Ukrainian media have previously listed 22c among the “pro-Russian” hacker groups that had supposedly been preparing a massive attack on the Ukrainian government in early 2024.
OpenAI has been named by US President Donald Trump as one of the three companies to be involved in a major artificial-intelligence infrastructure initiative. Dubbed Project Stargate, it will be a collaboration between OpenAI, US tech giant Oracle, and Japanese investment firm SoftBank, the president said on Tuesday.
The US company has also stirred some controversies recently, with founder Sam Altman accused of child sex abuse by his own sister. Altman has denied the allegations as “utterly untrue.” Last week, the mother of an OpenAI whistleblower, the late Suchir Balaji, told American journalist Tucker Carlson her son could not have died by suicide. She claimed that Balaji, who was found dead in his San Francisco apartment in November, had documents that could have damaged the company.
