Google’s Gemini model accessed the internet and hacked other companies during a test of its cybersecurity capabilities, ​the first known example of the company’s AI systems autonomously committing ‌such an act.

The hacks occurred in May during a cybersecurity test conducted by Irregular, an independent company that conducts cybersecurity evaluations.

During a standard testing evaluation, Gemini found public information ​online and guessed credentials to access three websites it thought were ​within the scope of its test, Heather Adkins, Google’s vice president ⁠of security engineering, said in a statement.

“We ensured the three entities were ​made aware, and we worked with our training partner on the changes they’ve ​now made to their testing processes,” Adkins said. “These events highlight the importance of training powerful AI models to act responsibly.”

Read More: Founder of Chinese startup Spirit AI says robot brains set for 2027 breakthrough

An Irregular spokesperson said the incident involved the same issue ​that affected other AI labs and that all relevant labs were notified ​in late July. “All known issues on our end were remedied and resolved weeks ago,” the ‌spokesperson ⁠said.

Similar incidents linked to Irregular were disclosed by Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI. Meta said in August the incident did not involve a sandbox escape or sophisticated cyberattack, while Irregular said it was working on best practices for securely conducting ​AI cybersecurity evaluations.

The incidents ​have raised questions ⁠about the safeguards needed as AI agents gain greater autonomy and access to the internet and computer systems.

In one ​of the cases, the Gemini model guessed passwords until ​it gained ⁠access to a protected system. In the other two cases, the model found credentials in a public repository that allowed it to then access protected systems, according to ⁠the ​Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news ​on Friday.

Adkins said that in all three instances, the model ceased its hacking.