Responding to Mythos "Race Against Time": Japan's Takaichi

Tokyo, May 14 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday that the government is rushing to take measures against the cybersecurity threats posed by the Claude Mythos artificial intelligence model, describing such efforts as a "race against time."

"Finding vulnerabilities (in systems) is a race against time," Takaichi said in a meeting with Masaaki Taira, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Headquarters for National Cybersecurity Strategy. "I am giving instructions to come up with concrete measures and implement them."

Taira handed the prime minister a proposal on fundamentally strengthening measures regarding AI, which warned about the threats of cyberattacks using Mythos. He called for steps that enhance the cyber defense capabilities of all critical infrastructure operators.

Mythos, developed by U.S. startup Anthropic, is highly adept at identifying system vulnerabilities, which has sparked concerns about its possible use in cyberattacks.

Anthropic has not publicly released the AI model, and only a few companies and groups have access to it. Japan's three megabanks--MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Bank--are working to gain access.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]