4 ms·

Well OpenAI say users' names, emails and locations have been divulged, one of them is going to accept there was a "breach"

red_Seashell_32 11mo ago
OpenAI was sending that data to MixPanel. If anything, OpenAI is culprit for sensitive data leak. There’s absolutely no reason to send that data.
- jacquesm 11mo ago
  Companies use sub-processors all the time, OpenAI is no different. Unless you want to have everybody get a major case of NIH tomorrow (I wouldn't mind, then we can get rid of third party cookies and all advertising as well while we're at it). Every time a google tag is included on a page a ton of sensitive data gets sent to another party than the one whose website you are visiting. Whether it was wise or not for OpenAI to share this information with Mixpanel is another thing, personally I think they should not have but OpenAI in turn is also used by lots of companies and given their private data and so on. This layercake of trust only needs on party to mess up for a breach to become reality. What I'm interested in is whether or not it was just OpenAI's data that was lifted or also other Mixpanel customers.
- beAbU 11mo ago
  I agree. On all the implementations of Mixpanel that I've been involved in, I've made it a point to not send any PII to Mixpanel. It's not needed for Mixpanel analytics to work, Mixpanel is not a CRM, it does not need customer email and other details.
- codedokode 11mo ago
  But why do they send email addresses instead of anonymous identifiers? To link data with data from other sources?
  - macNchz 11mo ago
    It’s how they do it in the Mixpanel setup guide: https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/quickstart/identify-users#code https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/quickstart/identify-users#cod... Also probably people on the product marketing team want to have identifying info in their dashboards of top users and churn risks and whatever, and someone has to be the one to tell them no.
- cyberax 11mo ago
  Mixpanel has "session replay" support: https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/tracking-methods/sdks/javascript/javascript-replay https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/tracking-methods/sdks/javascr... And it's easy to let things like names and emails slip through.
bflesch 11mo ago
If Mixpanel is subprocessor of GDPR'd data from OpenAI, OpenAI is obliged to notify affected European customers about the data breach within 72hrs.
- jacquesm 11mo ago
  Correct. And they're already out of that window.
  - spacebanana7 11mo ago
    I wonder whether OpenAI could be okay if they themselves weren't notified within 72hrs.
    - jacquesm 11mo ago
      Typically: yes. The clock starts ticking the moment you or anybody within your organization becomes aware of the breach. Three days is plenty. It even gives you time to consult your lawyers if you are not sure if a breach is reportable or not, but you could always do a provisional which gives you a way to back out later.
  - neom 11mo ago
    True, but we don't know if oai emailed their customers to tell them as soon as mixpannel told them. The regulation says they only have to notify affected parties.

red_Seashell_32 11mo ago

OpenAI was sending that data to MixPanel. If anything, OpenAI is culprit for sensitive data leak. There’s absolutely no reason to send that data.

jacquesm 11mo ago
Companies use sub-processors all the time, OpenAI is no different. Unless you want to have everybody get a major case of NIH tomorrow (I wouldn't mind, then we can get rid of third party cookies and all advertising as well while we're at it). Every time a google tag is included on a page a ton of sensitive data gets sent to another party than the one whose website you are visiting. Whether it was wise or not for OpenAI to share this information with Mixpanel is another thing, personally I think they should not have but OpenAI in turn is also used by lots of companies and given their private data and so on. This layercake of trust only needs on party to mess up for a breach to become reality. What I'm interested in is whether or not it was just OpenAI's data that was lifted or also other Mixpanel customers.
beAbU 11mo ago
I agree. On all the implementations of Mixpanel that I've been involved in, I've made it a point to not send any PII to Mixpanel. It's not needed for Mixpanel analytics to work, Mixpanel is not a CRM, it does not need customer email and other details.
codedokode 11mo ago
But why do they send email addresses instead of anonymous identifiers? To link data with data from other sources?
- macNchz 11mo ago
  It’s how they do it in the Mixpanel setup guide: https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/quickstart/identify-users#code https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/quickstart/identify-users#cod... Also probably people on the product marketing team want to have identifying info in their dashboards of top users and churn risks and whatever, and someone has to be the one to tell them no.
cyberax 11mo ago
Mixpanel has "session replay" support: https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/tracking-methods/sdks/javascript/javascript-replay https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/tracking-methods/sdks/javascr... And it's easy to let things like names and emails slip through.

bflesch 11mo ago

If Mixpanel is subprocessor of GDPR'd data from OpenAI, OpenAI is obliged to notify affected European customers about the data breach within 72hrs.

jacquesm 11mo ago
Correct. And they're already out of that window.
- spacebanana7 11mo ago
  I wonder whether OpenAI could be okay if they themselves weren't notified within 72hrs.
  - jacquesm 11mo ago
    Typically: yes. The clock starts ticking the moment you or anybody within your organization becomes aware of the breach. Three days is plenty. It even gives you time to consult your lawyers if you are not sure if a breach is reportable or not, but you could always do a provisional which gives you a way to back out later.
- neom 11mo ago
  True, but we don't know if oai emailed their customers to tell them as soon as mixpannel told them. The regulation says they only have to notify affected parties.