Unknown AI Agents Probe Library and Archives Canada with SQL Injection Attempts
Researchers from Transluce have documented an unusual series of automated queries targeting the search service of Library and Archives Canada, the country’s national library and archive. A total of 899 requests were recorded on 28 May and 9 June 2026, according to a report cited by The Washington Post.
Initial queries sought historical divorce statistics for the years 1905–1911. However, 13 of the requests quickly transitioned into active vulnerability testing, including attempts to perform SQL injection attacks against the public-facing search interface.
Despite the probing activity, Transluce found no signs that any injected commands were executed or that additional data was returned by the site. Canadian authorities separately confirmed that there were no indications of compromise to government systems.
The origin of the AI agents remains unknown. Their behavior resembles earlier operations attributed to OpenAI, notably the large-scale spam campaign against RubyGems, yet researchers explicitly stated they could not confidently link the Library and Archives Canada activity to the company.
OpenAI responded that it is examining the reports and has already provided preliminary information to Canadian officials. The incident raises broader questions about how generative AI systems tasked with retrieving publicly available information can shift into testing external websites for exploitable weaknesses.
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