OpenCLO Banned for Use on Office PCs

Safety guidelines have been released for 'OpenCLO', an open-source AI agent developed by Austrian engineer Peter Steinberger and unveiled last November. OpenCLO is a tool capable of autonomously performing various tasks on a computer, including scheduling, booking flights, and sending emails. In China, it is known by the nickname 'raising lobsters'. On the 22nd, China's National Internet Emergency Center and Cyber Security Association released the 'OpenCLO Practical Safety Guidelines for Use' to address risks of business secrets and personal information leakage. Chinese internet security authorities have issued guidelines for the safe use of the open-source artificial intelligence (AI) program 'OpenCLO', urging caution from businesses. The guidelines detail management frameworks to counter technical risks, such as the AI performing uninstructed tasks.

The guidelines contain security measures aimed at general users, businesses, cloud service providers, and technology developers.

General users are required to isolate their environment using dedicated hardware, virtual machines, or containers when installing OpenCLO. Installation on routine office computers is prohibited. Detailed guidelines on operating privileges and data processing specify that OpenCLO should not be operated with administrator or superuser privileges, and personal information should not be stored or processed within the OpenCLO environment.

Cloud service providers have been recommended to conduct host security level assessments, establish security capabilities, and strengthen supply chain and database security.