OpenAI Confirms Data Breach—Here’s Who Is Impacted

A breach at analytics supplier Mixpanel earlier this month uncovered account names, e mail addresses, and browser places for some customers of OpenAI’s API, the AI large confirmed Wednesday, elevating considerations that cybercriminals may use the stolen metadata in focused phishing makes an attempt.

Based on Mixpanel, on November 8, an unknown attacker gained entry to a part of its methods and exported a dataset containing customer-identifiable metadata and analytics info. The stolen information included usernames, e mail addresses, approximate browser-based location, working system, and browser particulars.

OpenAI stated the breach didn’t embrace customers’ prompts, API keys, cost info, or authentication tokens.

Solely information from customers who accessed OpenAI’s tech by way of the API—aka, by way of exterior apps powered by GPT—was leaked, the corporate stated. In different phrases, when you entry the ChatGPT chatbot immediately from OpenAI’s web site, then you definitely will not be impacted right here.



“As a part of our safety investigation, we eliminated Mixpanel from our manufacturing companies, reviewed the affected datasets, and are working carefully with Mixpanel and different companions to totally perceive the incident and its scope,” OpenAI stated in a press release.

Based in 2009, the San Francisco-based Mixpanel is a product analytics platform used to trace consumer habits throughout net and cell functions. The corporate stated it detected the “smishing” marketing campaign, and after an preliminary investigation and response, alerted OpenAI the subsequent day.

“We’re dedicated to transparency, and are notifying all impacted prospects and customers,” OpenAI stated. “We additionally maintain our companions and distributors accountable for the best bar for safety and privateness of their companies.”

Smishing is a kind of phishing assault performed by way of SMS messages. Based on an October report by infrastructure administration firm Spacelift, smishing accounted for 39% of all cell threats in 2024.

Mixpanel stated it secured affected accounts, revoked energetic classes, rotated compromised credentials, and blocked malicious IP addresses. The corporate additionally reset worker passwords, employed exterior cybersecurity companies, and reviewed authentication, session, and export logs.

After the breach, Mixpanel stated it started notifying impacted prospects in regards to the incident.

“When you have not heard from us immediately, you weren’t impacted,” Mixpanel CEO Jen Taylor stated in a press release. “We proceed to prioritize safety as a core tenet of our firm, merchandise, and companies. We’re dedicated to supporting our prospects and speaking transparently about this incident.”

Regardless of Mixpanel’s reporting of the incident to OpenAI, the ChatGPT developer stated it was slicing ties with the analytics agency. “After reviewing this incident, OpenAI has terminated its use of Mixpanel,” they wrote.

Some OpenAI prospects took to social media to specific frustration with the revelation {that a} third-party service had entry to their info.

“I am not very blissful about this. […] Why did they should go on my identify and e mail deal with to Mixpanel?” one consumer wrote on X. “I’m only a hobbyist making an attempt to make small experiments.”

“OpenAI sending names and emails to a 3rd social gathering analytics platform (Mixpanel) feels wildly irresponsible,” one other wrote.

OpenAI and Mixpanel didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark by Decrypt.