OpenAI announced that it is increasing the reward for its Security Bug Bounty program from $20,000 to $100,000 and the scope of its Cybersecurity Grant program, and is developing new tools to protect AI agents from attackers.
OpenAI announced that it is increasing the reward for its Security Bug Bounty program from $20,000 to $100,000 and the scope of its Cybersecurity Grant program, and is developing new tools to protect AI agents from attackers.
The announcement comes amid reports that AI agents could be used to write and send phishing attacks, TechRadar reports, and the company is seeking to underscore its «commitment to rewarding meaningful, high-impact security research that helps us protect users and maintain trust in our systems».
Since launching its cybersecurity grant program in 2023, OpenAI has reviewed thousands of applications and even funded 28 research initiatives, helping the company gain insight into security issues such as autonomous cyber threat defense, rapid injections, and secure code generation.
OpenAI says it is constantly monitoring attackers who try to exploit its systems, and is detecting and disrupting such campaigns.
«We don’t just defend ourselves, we share secrets with other AI labs to strengthen our collective defenses. By sharing these new risks and collaborating with industry and government, we help ensure the safe development and deployment of AI technologies,» the company says.
OpenAI is not the only company to increase its bounty program: in 2024, Google announced a fivefold increase in bug bounty rewards, arguing that more secure products make it harder to find bugs, which is why higher bounties appear.
«We bring together researchers and practitioners from across the cybersecurity community. This allows us to leverage the latest ideas and share our findings with those working to create a safer digital world,» Open AI said.
The company noted that to train its models, they collaborate with experts from academic, government, and commercial laboratories to identify cybersecurity gaps.
In February 2025, OpenAI published a report describing trends in the use of its platform by attackers. The company removed dozens of accounts that were using ChatGPT for fraud, such as generating fake content or job postings.
Recently, dev.ua reported that cybercriminals are actively implementing artificial intelligence to scale attacks and generate profit. Malware generation, automated phishing, and self-learning AI worms are just some tools used in modern cybercrime.
