Timeline

As of 8 October 2026

Event dates and disclosure dates are kept apart. The event was in May 2026; the public heard of it on 18 September 2026. Items are reported unless marked otherwise.

Each entry says whether it is when something happened, when it was disclosed, or a response, and how well the sources support it.

The event and the private notice: May to July 2026

1. May 2026Happenedreported

   A Gemini model, in a capture-the-flag test run by Irregular, gets into three real companies' systems. No source gives the day.^[1][2][3]

2. Late July 2026Disclosedreported

   Relevant labs are notified of the problem, according to Axios. This was not public. Why the notice came in late July for events in May is not stated.^[1][4]

3. 30 July 2026Disclosed

   Irregular's later post says a customer first disclosed the underlying environment issue on this date. The post does not say which customer.^[5]

Other labs speak first: August 2026

1. 5 August 2026Disclosedreported

   Meta gives the media a statement saying it had "inadvertently allowed one of our models access to the internet during evaluation". Google is not named.^[6][7]

2. 14 August 2026Response

   Irregular publishes "Addressing Recent Incidents". The post does not name Google.^[5]

The Gemini case becomes public: September 2026

1. 18 September 2026Disclosedreported

   The Wall Street Journal reports the Gemini breakout. Google confirms after its inquiries. Axios and Gizmodo publish the same day.^[1][4]

2. 19 September 2026Disclosedreported

   Al Jazeera, carrying Reuters, and 9to5Google publish Google's statements.^[8][9]

3. 21 September 2026Disclosedreported

   SecurityWeek, The Record, The Register, Cybersecurity Dive, Decrypt and PYMNTS follow. The accounts of whether the credentials were used differ.^{[2][10][11][3][12][13]}

4. 25 September 2026Responsereported

   Dark Reading publishes commentary on the case. Its editors say Google should have disclosed it earlier; this is opinion.^[14]