NSA said to be readying Anthropic’s Mythos for use in cyber operations

Anthropic has deployed around half-a-dozen engineers to the National Security Agency to help its spies use the company’s frontier cybersecurity AI model, Mythos, Financial Times reported, citing anonymous sources.

The engineers are reportedly tasked with helping the intelligence agency use Mythos for certain applications, the report said. However, it’s unclear if the engineers or Mythos are being actively used in the agency’s hacking operations.

The NSA is tasked with collecting intelligence from wiretaps, undersea cables, corporate partnerships, and other clandestine means, as well as conducting offensive cyberattacks on foreign adversaries.

FT’s report adds to earlier news from Axios, which reported in April that the NSA was using Mythos despite a federal ban on using Anthropic’s technology. That ban followed a decision by the Department of Defense to designate Anthropic a “supply-chain risk” in retaliation for not allowing the government to use its models for mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons.

The latest report comes as governments are scrambling to gain access to Mythos, which Anthropic claims it had to limit access to, fearing its cybersecurity capabilities could be exploited to discover security flaws and carry out hacks.

When reached by TechCrunch, a spokesperson for the NSA declined to confirm or deny the reporting. Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment.