(April 20): Singapore’s financial regulator is urging banks to plug their cybersecurity holes, as concerns over Anthropic PBC’s latest AI model Mythos spread to Asia.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore is coordinating with the country’s cybersecurity agency to strengthen defences at critical infrastructure operators including banks, a spokesperson said in response to queries from Bloomberg about the risks posed by Mythos, a new AI model from Anthropic which the company sees as too dangerous to release widely.
“Financial institutions need to redouble efforts to strengthen their security defences, pro-actively identify and close vulnerabilities, and raise vigilance on cyber hygiene, including timely security patching,” the spokesperson said. Advances in artificial intelligence will “accelerate the discovery and exploitation of software vulnerabilities in IT systems”, the spokesperson added.
The country’s Cyber Security Agency published an advisory on April 15 warning of similar risks, without naming Mythos directly.
The city-state’s warning reflects rising global concern over Mythos as regulators discuss with financial firms how they are handling the cybersecurity risks raised by the model, which has so far been given only a limited release. Anthropic held back a wider release after finding the model was capable of discovering security holes that have gone undetected for years, fuelling alarm about a potential new era of cybersecurity attacks.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell convened an urgent meeting with Wall Street bank leaders this month to discuss the risks and precautions the firms are taking to defend their systems, Bloomberg reported. JPMorgan Chase & Co chief executive officer Jamie Dimon, whose firm is testing Mythos, said on a recent earnings call that AI has made cyber risks worse, though it also offers better ways to boost defences.
See also: CRE, Middle East, gold and directors' fees among questions at UOB’s AGM
Uploaded by Chng Shear Lane
