Anthropic’s Claude Mythos can trigger cybersecurity risks, IMF warns
Follow UsThe IMF says AI tools like Claude Mythos could help hackers find security flaws much faster.
A single cyberattack could affect many banks and financial systems at the same time.
The IMF wants countries and companies to work together on stronger cybersecurity and AI defence systems.
Claude Mythos was introduced recently by Anthropic, but unlike the other models that are available to the general public, the company announced that it would not be available to the general public because of the risks attached to its capabilities. Moreover, Anthropic also claimed that Mythos could detect cybersecurity flaws across software systems at a scale beyond human experts. Now, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has added to the growing concern, as they said that advanced AI tools like Mythos could create serious risks for the global financial system if they are misused. The organisation believes such systems may help attackers find and exploit weaknesses faster than banks, governments and companies can respond with fixes or protection measures in place.
SurveyThe IMF’s warning focuses mainly on the speed and scale at which AI-driven cyberattacks could happen. According to the organisation, tools like Claude Mythos can reduce the time and cost needed to discover security loopholes. This means cybercriminals may no longer need months of planning to launch complex attacks. Alternatively, AI technologies could point out the weak points in no time, thus assisting hackers in exploiting them before companies realise they have any problem at all.
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The concern becomes even bigger because many banks and financial institutions use similar digital systems. If hackers discover one major weakness, the same attack could spread across several organisations at once. The IMF described this possibility as ‘correlated failures’, where disruptions hit payment networks, customer accounts and financial services on a large scale.
Anthropic has said Claude Mythos is currently restricted to around 40 organisations through its Project Glasswing programme. Reports suggest firms such as Amazon, Google and Apple have access to the model. However, many governments and financial institutions outside the United States reportedly do not.
This has triggered fresh debate around unequal access to advanced cybersecurity tools. Countries including India, Canada and several European Union members are reportedly seeking access to strengthen their own digital defence systems. The IMF warned that if only a small group of organisations can use such technology, global protection levels may become uneven.
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The IMF is now also urging countries and financial institutions to work together more closely. It has called for stronger international cybersecurity rules, better coordination and AI-based defence systems to prepare for future threats that could spread across sectors beyond banking, including telecom networks, energy systems and public services.
