NSA Loses Access to Anthropic's Mythos 5 Amid Export Control Dispute
The National Security Agency (NSA) has lost access to Anthropic’s Mythos 5 model following recent export controls imposed by the Trump administration. Analysts were notified that they would no longer have access to Mythos, although the agency may still be able to use earlier versions of the technology under prior arrangements. However, access to company support, updates, or modifications is now more limited.
This change could disrupt NSA operations that utilize one of the most closely monitored AI tools in government, as officials have been exploring whether advanced models can assist in identifying software vulnerabilities within their systems. The export controls were enacted this month due to national security concerns, prompting Anthropic to retract the release of its most advanced models, including Mythos 5 and Fable 5.
Virginia Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated that NSA Director Gen. Joshua Rudd had informed him that Mythos was able to breach nearly all classified systems in hours. This comment, later referenced in a report by The Economist, sparked speculation about the disruptive potential of the latest AI systems on cybersecurity. However, a defense editor from The Economist clarified that Warner had misunderstood Rudd’s comments, explaining that the Mythos work was part of a red-teaming effort designed to test the security of internal networks. The agency's red teams have lost access to Mythos because their authority to use it was linked to Project Glasswing, which was initiated in April to provide select security researchers and organizations early access to Mythos Preview. Following the program's expansion, approximately 150 organizations across more than 15 countries, including critical infrastructure operators, gained access to the model. The Five Eyes intelligence alliance has since warned that frontier AI models could significantly change the cyber threat landscape within months, impacting both attackers and defenders.
