xAI Grok build uploaded ignored git files to Google Cloud
Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, is catching heat for its Grok Build tool uploading entire Git repositories, including files that were supposed to be ignored, straight to xAI's Google Cloud.
A researcher found even a test file named never_read_canary.txt got uploaded, despite being excluded by the settings.
Turning off model training didn't stop the transfers, and sensitive info like API keys ended up online.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called the situation "concerning."
xAI says 0 data retention unaffected
xAI responded by saying enterprise users with Zero Data Retention weren't affected, and that on July 13, Grok Build version 0.2.93 stopped making storage upload requests and server settings changed.
Musk reassured everyone that any previously uploaded data would be "completely and utterly deleted."
Tests showed Grok Build sent over 5GB of data from a 12GB repo while only needing a tiny fraction for its task, raising big questions about security, especially since rival tools like OpenAI Codex didn't have this issue.