(Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP via Getty Images)
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The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is finally using Anthropic’s Mythos AI model to search for vulnerabilities that could have a serious impact on government agencies and private businesses, per a report in Reuters.
Forbes previously reported that CISA didn’t have access to either Anthropic or OpenAI models that had proven adept at finding bugs and exploiting them with no human required. Anthropic has limited Mythos access to select partners, but CISA was not one of the first cohort of nearly 50 organizations.
Now, though, as confirmed to Forbes by an anonymous CISA employee, some staff on the Attack Surface Evaluation team have been using the tool to scan government code stored on Github. Reuters, citing three people familiar with the matter, reports that CISA has uncovered a “large number” of vulnerabilities.
Government departments need to use AI to bolster cybersecurity, but they’ve had to balance that with the White House’s standoff with Anthropic. Earlier this year, Anthropic declined to provide AI to the Pentagon for use in mass surveillance, angering the Trump administration to the point that it declared Anthropic a supply chain threat, effectively cutting it off from doing government business. Last month, the White House told Anthropic to cease foreign sales of its new Fable model, a heavily-safeguarded version of Mythos, over concerns about offensive use of the tool.
It’s unclear how agencies such as CISA got permission to use Mythos. Neither Anthropic nor CISA responded to requests for comment.
CISA’s use of the tool shows that there’s a strong willingness to make sure the government doesn’t get left behind in the AI race. Other nations, most notably China, are rapidly developing artificial intelligence that can hack better and faster than many human operators.
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THE BIG STORY
(Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty ImagesNSO Spyware Used On European Surveillance Investigator, Report Claims
NSO spyware was used to surveil Stelios Kouloglou, a former member of the European Parliament, at a time when he was carrying out an investigation into the abuses of surveillance technology. That’s according to Citizen Lab, a nonprofit monitoring spyware dealers, which said “attackers could have had access to confidential documents and committee deliberations.”
The researchers were unable to conclude what government conducted the attack. Kouloglou, who left the European Parliament in 2024 to become an investigative journalist, told Reuters he was shocked by the revelations, saying, “I was not expecting that they would be as reckless as that.”
Stories You Have To Read Today
Cops have repeatedly used Flock Safety’s network of over 80,000 cameras to stalk women. In one case, a cop followed a woman at high speed, nearly causing a crash, according to video obtained by 404 Media.
Canada’s Communications Security Establishment spy agency revealed it carried out three foreign “active cyber operations” over the last year. The hacks targeted opioid manufacturers and an extremist organization.
Winner of the Week
Spanish police announced the arrest of an unnamed member of two pro-Russia hacktivist groups, which had targeted critical infrastructure. He was arrested in Palencia, in central Spain. A few months ago, U.S. officials said that one of the groups, the CyberArmy of Russia Reborn, had been working directly with Kremlin spies.
Loser of the Week
A number of U.S. Army websites were defaced last week with derisive messages about President Trump and the U.S. ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, while calling for Kurdish freedom, CyberScoop reports.
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