Bessent, Powell warns banks over Anthropic AI risks

Top U.S. financial officials have privately warned major banks about potential cybersecurity threats linked to a powerful new artificial intelligence model developed by Anthropic, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Scott Bessent and Jerome Powell convened an urgent meeting with leading bank executives in Washington this week to discuss risks tied to the company’s latest system, known as Mythos, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

Anthropic recently unveiled the advanced model but stopped short of a full public release, citing concerns about its potential to expose previously unknown vulnerabilities in digital systems.

The company has indicated that Mythos is capable of identifying and exploiting weaknesses across major operating systems and web browsers, raising concerns about how such technology could be misused if widely deployed.

Anthropic has also been in ongoing discussions with U.S. government officials about the model’s “offensive and defensive” cyber capabilities, according to sources.

The closed-door meeting, hosted by the U.S. Treasury, aimed to ensure that financial institutions are aware of the emerging risks and are taking steps to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses.

Many of the CEOs were already in Washington for other engagements when the invitations were sent, making it easier to organize the high-level discussion quickly.

According to reports, executives from major banks, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, were present. Jamie Dimon was reportedly unable to attend.

Access to the Mythos model will initially be restricted to a small group of around 40 technology companies, including Microsoft and Google.

The selective rollout reflects growing caution around the rapid advancement of AI tools with significant real-world implications, particularly in sectors like finance where cybersecurity risks can have systemic consequences.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada