Security Researchers Baffled by OpenAI’s TAC Program Access Revocation

Several security researchers have reported that OpenAI suddenly revoked their access to a limited-access program called the Trusted Access for Cyber (TAC) program. This program provides vetted researchers with access to OpenAI’s most advanced AI models with fewer cybersecurity guardrails than the models available to regular users.

The TAC program is designed to give trusted defenders better models so they can report bugs and vulnerabilities to companies, with the aim of getting flaws patched faster. The goal is also to prevent cybercriminals and malicious hackers from accessing those models and using them to find bugs and develop exploits to hack companies.

Researchers who spoke to TechCrunch said that when they opened ChatGPT’s Cyber page, a message appeared saying their identity could not be verified or that their account “is ineligible at this time.” This issue has been reported by multiple researchers on OpenAI’s official support forums and on X.

The researchers who experienced the issue said they live outside of the U.S. and Europe, suggesting the revocations may be limited to certain regions. OpenAI confirmed that the issue was caused by an error and referred TechCrunch to a tweet in which the company said a “limited set of users’ access to Daybreak Blue is no longer active and they will need to re-verify to maintain their access.”

Daybreak Blue is the latest tier for individual researchers that grants access to “frontier general-purpose models, including GPT-5.6 Sol, with safeguards tailored to authorized defensive security work.” This tier was launched by OpenAI on August 10, and it is the recommended starting point for most defenders, supporting vulnerability discovery, secure code review, malware analysis, incident response, and patch validation.

At the same time, OpenAI introduced a higher tier called Daybreak Red that gives access to models made specifically for cybersecurity research. These models allow vetted users to do “authorized vulnerability research, exploit validation, and security testing.”

In recent months, both defensive and offensive security researchers have complained about the guardrails imposed by OpenAI and Anthropic, arguing that the guardrails prevent them from doing legitimate work. The researchers are now facing difficulties in accessing the TAC program, which has raised concerns about the impact on cybersecurity research.

One researcher who experienced the issue said that OpenAI sent an email saying that their access to Daybreak Blue was revoked “due to a technical issue affecting a limited number of users.” The email also asked the researcher to reapply and complete the verification process.

Another researcher wrote on OpenAI’s forums that after they reached out to the official support, the company also cited a “recent technical issue” that caused some users to lose access to Daybreak Blue. In both cases, OpenAI asked the researchers to reapply and complete the verification process.