OpenAI has announced a partnership with the cybersecurity research company Hacktron to find and repair vulnerabilities in its systems. The collaboration focuses specifically on security risks involving connections with third-party services.
Under the agreement, engineers from OpenAI and security researchers from Hacktron will work together to identify high-priority areas for testing. OpenAI also plans to expand Hacktron’s access to its most advanced AI models through its Daybreak Red program.
The company stated it chose Hacktron after becoming familiar with them through its bug bounty program, where the firm’s researchers identified and disclosed security flaws. Hacktron specializes in developing AI agents for penetration testing, red teaming, and code reviews. Its research has previously identified weaknesses in identity systems, cloud infrastructure, and interactions between applications.
OpenAI believes Hacktron’s expertise will help examine risks that occur when AI agents connect multiple services. Zayne Zhang, CEO of Hacktron, said the partnership would combine the firm’s offensive security expertise with OpenAI’s advanced AI models to identify complex vulnerabilities across interconnected systems. Zhang also stated that effective cybersecurity increasingly depends on combining human expertise with AI-powered capabilities rather than simply expanding security teams.
This partnership is part of a broader effort by OpenAI to strengthen cybersecurity as AI systems become more capable and connect with more external services. The announcement follows other initiatives introduced by OpenAI this week, including a plan for researchers from Cathedral to work with internal teams during the next security sprint.
OpenAI also increased rewards under its Security Bug Bounty program to encourage independent researchers to report vulnerabilities that internal testing might miss. The company said the partnership with Hacktron will allow both teams to investigate vulnerabilities more thoroughly and use those findings to improve security protections.
