Samsung chip secrets leaked on ChatGPT, restrictions imposed

Samsung workers accidentally shared sensitive chip data with ChatGPT to get solutions and answers. As soon as the company spotted the cases of a data breach, it imposed restrictions on the usage of ChatGPT and warned of complete blockage if the incident repeats.

According to the info, there were three incidents of entering Samsung Elec’s corporate information (related to chip data) into ChatGPT. Open AI support recommends not to submit any kind of sensitive/confidential data in ChatGPT as it may be reviewed by trainers of the AI chatbot.

On March 11, Samsung DS Division allowed the use of ChatGPT as it’s necessary for workers to stay aware of the latest technologies. However, the company issued a notice to its executives and employees to “be careful about internal information security and do not enter private information.”

Within 20 days of permitting the use of ChatGPT, the “internal information leakage” accident that was concerned about occurred. The contents of the accident identified by Samsung Electronics are “2 cases of leakage of equipment information” and “1 case of leakage of meeting contents.”

“I copied all of the problematic source code, entered it into ChatGPT, and inquired about a solution. In other words, the source code related to Samsung Electronics facility measurement was entered as open AI learning data,” said an employee of DS division.

In a notification sent to DS Division’s executives and employees, Samsung said, “As soon as content is entered into ChatGPT, data is transmitted and stored to an external server, making it impossible for the company to retrieve it.”

After recognizing this, Samsung imposed “emergency measures” including limiting the upload capacity to 1024 bytes per question. The executives and staff involved in the corporate information leakage accident will be investigated and, if necessary, disciplinary action will be taken.

However, the Korean tech giant is preparing measures to prevent data breaches through the ChatGPT AI chatbot. The company informed its executives and employees, “If a similar accident occurs even after emergency information protection measures are taken, access to ChatGPT may be blocked on the company network.”

A Samsung Electronics official said to a reporter who asked about the information leakage accident, “It is difficult to confirm because it is an internal matter of the company.”

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