“We need something far more versatile…”: Nirmala Sitharaman flags Anthropic Mythos AI as new risk to banks

On April 23, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a high-level security meeting with Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, bank leaders, and stakeholders to evaluate cybersecurity risks associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) models. The meeting comes amid growing concerns about Anthropic’s new Claude Mythos model. 

The X post shared by the Ministry of Finance revealed that Sitharaman warned stakeholders about the potential risks of emerging AI models like Mythos. The post highlighted that the threat from AI models is “unprecedented and requires a very high degree of vigilance, preparedness and better coordination across financial institutions and banks.”

Must read: BT explainer: Why Anthropic’s Claude Mythos could become a major security risk?

While Sitharaman praised the ongoing efforts of banks in tackling cybersecurity-related risk. She highlighted that there is a greater challenge that is emerging from advanced technologies like AI. 

“The new challenge, which is coming in the name of Mythos, about which not much is known, not very many people have tested or tried,” Sitharaman said as per ANI inputs. The FM also stated that the Ministry of Electronics and Telecommunications are in active discussion with concerned authorities, tech companies, and governments around the world about the preparedness India needs to strengthen its defence.

Must read: Anthropic’s Mythos breached! Unauthorised access raises security concerns

FM stressed that the current proactiveness may not be sufficient, and that “we need something new and something far more versatile to be able to counter the newer threats which are likely to come.” She further urged banks to work together to understand where the investment is required, what technologies would be necessary, and how AI could itself counter  AI-related challenges.

The X post further urged banks to “report any suspicious activity or cyber incident to the relevant authorities,” and “to take all necessary pre-emptive measures to secure their IT systems, safeguard customer data, and protect monetary resources.”