OpenAI Announces Partnership With Hacktron to Find Vulnerabilities
OpenAI announced on November 6, 2026 that it is partnering with Hacktron to find vulnerabilities in OpenAI’s systems. OpenAI’s engineers and Hacktron’s security researchers will choose high-priority areas to test together, with a focus on how OpenAI’s systems interact with third-party services. As part of the partnership, OpenAI is expanding Hacktron’s access to its frontier models through Daybreak Red.
OpenAI said it is applying the same urgency to finding and fixing vulnerabilities in its own systems as it works to accelerate cyber defense with frontier AI. Earlier in the week, OpenAI announced that Cathedral’s researchers will work alongside its teams in its next security sprint. OpenAI also raised its bug bounty rewards to give independent researchers more reason to pursue vulnerabilities its own testing may have missed.
OpenAI said it became familiar with Hacktron through its Security Bug Bounty program and was impressed by the impact of the vulnerabilities Hacktron’s researchers have discovered and disclosed to OpenAI. Hacktron builds AI agents for code review, penetration testing, and red teaming. Hacktron’s research has uncovered vulnerabilities in how applications, cloud infrastructure, and identity systems interact.
OpenAI said that as AI agents connect services in new ways, that combination of skills becomes even more valuable. Working alongside Hacktron will help OpenAI test those connections more deeply and use what it learns to strengthen its defenses.
Zayne Zhang, CEO of Hacktron, said: "The future of cybersecurity won’t be defined by who has the largest security team, but by who can best combine human creativity with AI-driven capabilities."
Zhang also said: "OpenAI is setting a strong example by putting frontier cyber models in the hands of security researchers, enabling them to uncover complex vulnerabilities at the boundaries between interconnected systems."
Zhang added: "We’re excited to deepen our partnership with OpenAI, combining our offensive security expertise with their frontier models to help secure OpenAI and the broader software ecosystem."
OpenAI said it is grateful to Hacktron and other independent researchers who put time into finding and reporting weaknesses to help strengthen the security that protects all its users. OpenAI directed people to its Security Bug Bounty program to see which systems are in scope or submit a finding.
