Recent Global Outage of ChatGPT Explained by OpenAI as Result of Cyberattack
OpenAI’s popular generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, experienced a recent outage affecting users globally, prompting social media posts about access issues. The disruption initially lasted approximately 90 minutes on November 8, followed by another outage the next day. OpenAI promptly acknowledged both incidents on its website, assuring users of ongoing efforts to resolve the issues. On Thursday, the company declared the successful resolution of the problems and attributed them to a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack, emphasizing the return to normal service status.
In a website statement, OpenAI clarified that the DDoS attack caused ChatGPT’s widespread unavailability and assured users that the situation had been addressed, restoring service stability. During the disruptions, users attempting to log in encountered an error message instructing them to contact OpenAI through the help center if the issue persisted.
A DDoS attack, explained as an attempt to overwhelm a website or service with traffic from multiple sources, creates a situation where legitimate users struggle to access the affected service, drawing a parallel to congested traffic blocking a busy street. These cyber attacks, driven by various factors, can result in substantial losses for businesses.
OpenAI also shared recent updates for ChatGPT, introducing GPT-4 Turbo, touted as the company’s most powerful language model yet. Notably, users can soon create personalized versions of ChatGPT, referred to as GPTs, and potentially earn income by allowing others to use them. OpenAI aims to make GPTs accessible to a wider user base, providing options for customization without coding requirements.
OpenAI’s blog post highlighted the availability of GPTs for ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users, with plans to extend access to more users in the future. Additionally, OpenAI intends to establish a GPT store featuring creations by verified users. GPT creators can share their models publicly, making them searchable and available for use by others, with potential earnings based on usage.
Discussing GPT-4 Turbo, OpenAI emphasized its increased power and affordability compared to predecessors, storing information up to April 2023 and boasting a larger context window for handling more extensive prompts.
