Sitharaman flags 'Mythos' AI threat

India’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, told bank chiefs on April 23 to harden their cyber defences after concerns over Anthropic’s “Mythos” artificial intelligence model. (ndtv.com) (business-standard.com) The meeting brought together heads of scheduled commercial banks in New Delhi to review risks from advanced AI systems that officials fear could be misused against financial networks. (thehindu.com) (firstpost.com) Sitharaman urged banks to take “all necessary pre-emptive measures” to secure information-technology systems, protect customer data and safeguard monetary resources, according to the finance ministry’s account of the meeting. (ndtv.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The immediate concern is not ordinary phishing or password theft. Officials and local reports framed “Mythos” as an AI system that could identify and weaponise software vulnerabilities faster than legacy bank security teams can respond. (outlookbusiness.com) (fortuneindia.com) India’s response was to push coordination as much as technology. Reports said the Indian Banks’ Association and State Bank of India were asked to work with lenders on sector-wide preparedness and response. (outlookbusiness.com) (msn.com) The backdrop is a financial system already under cyber strain. A Press Information Bureau note said India’s reported cybersecurity incidents rose from 10.29 lakh in 2022 to 22.68 lakh in 2024. (pib.gov.in) The government has also been building a banking-specific security architecture. India launched its first Digital Threat Report 2024 for the banking, financial services and insurance sector with CERT-In and CSIRT-Fin to map gaps and emerging risks. (pib.gov.in 1) (pib.gov.in 2) Banks were already using artificial intelligence on defence, especially in payments fraud monitoring, before this warning. The new message from New Delhi is that AI is now being treated as part of the attack surface too. (pib.gov.in) (business-standard.com) For now, the government has not announced a breach linked to “Mythos.” It has told banks to act before one happens. (ndtv.com) (thehindu.com)