OpenAI is highlighted as an active partner on Persona’s website, which claims that Persona screens millions of users for OpenAI every month. According to The Rage, “the publicly exposed domain, titled ‘openai-watchlistdb.withpersona.com’,” appears to “query identity verification requests on an OpenAI database” containing a “FedRAMP-authorized parallel implementation of software named ‘withpersona-gov.com’.”
The hackers warned that “OpenAI has created an internal database for persona identity checks that spans all OpenAI users via its internal WatchlistDB,” seemingly exploiting “the opportunity to create a watchlist of all users ranging from comparing users against a single federal watchlist.”
OpenAI did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.
Persona denies government, ICE ties
On Wednesday, Persona Chief Operating Officer Christy Kim tried to reassure Persona customers as the Discord controversy escalated. In an email, Kim said that Persona “invests heavily in infrastructure, compliance and internal training to ensure that sensitive data is handled responsibly” and not exposed.
“Over the past week, numerous social media posts and online articles have repeated misleading claims about Persona, insinuating conspiracies surrounding Discord and our work with our investors,” Kim wrote.
Noting that Persona “does not generally engage in online speculation,” Kim said the scandal required a direct response “because we operate in a sensitive space and your trust in us is fundamental to our partnership.”
As expected, Kim said that Persona has not partnered with federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“To be transparent, we are actively working on some potential contracts that will be publicly visible moving forward,” Kim wrote. “However, these attachments are solely for the protection of government employees’ workforce accounts and do not involve ICE or any agencies within the Department of Homeland Security.”
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