Concerns have been raised regarding the Federal Reserve’s limited access to Anthropic’s advanced artificial intelligence model, Claude Mythos Preview. Although officials warned major banks about the potential for cybersecurity threats posed by the technology, the central bank reportedly lacked use of the powerful AI tool for a minimum of three months.
Warnings Issued Regarding Advanced AI Vulnerabilities
In April, federal and banking authorities gathered for an extraordinary meeting involving the CEOs of America’s largest financial institutions. During this gathering, officials issued warnings concerning an advanced artificial intelligence model that presented unprecedented cybersecurity risks to top global banks.
Anthropic, the creator of Claude Mythos Preview, explained that the program was highly capable of identifying security weaknesses and vulnerabilities within software systems. The company began distributing the model to a select group of financial institutions and other organizations as part of an initiative known as Project Glasswing. Initial access in early April was granted to roughly 50 entities, which included major banks like JPMorgan Chase, alongside technology giants such as Amazon, Apple, and Google.
Central Bank Lags Behind Industry Adoption
Despite the high stakes surrounding the model’s capabilities, for at least three months following its introduction, the Federal Reserve itself was unable to utilize Mythos. This delay left one of the world’s most critical financial institutions potentially vulnerable while other organizations were able to begin patching their security weaknesses.
As recently as July 15, the Fed was reportedly still working to secure access to the model. During a hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, Chairman Kevin Warsh discussed the ongoing efforts to obtain such advanced technology.
Chairman Warsh Addresses Access Concerns
Speaking during testimony, Warsh clarified that securing access was a collective effort. He told Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island:
We are not the deciders as to who has access, but I have not been shy in sharing my views with authorities across the government about the vulnerabilities, and have been asking for access not just for the Federal Reserve but for other institutions to a whole range of these new artificial intelligence models so that they can protect themselves.
Warsh further emphasized that the Fed required more than just Mythos. He stated:
I wouldn’t want to just isolate Mythos, though. As these new models find their way more broadly, our banking system and frankly, the Federal Reserve needs to do all we can to patch any vulnerabilities that we have.
Regulatory Hurdles and Global AI Competition
The rollout of Mythos has been complicated by regulatory actions. In June, Anthropic announced it had to suspend access to both Mythos 5 (an updated version) and Fable 5 (a broader release of Mythos). This action was necessary to adhere to an export control directive issued by the federal government citing “national security authorities.” According to documentation viewed by CNBC, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later granted permission for Anthropic to restore access to a select group of “trusted partners,” and these specific export controls were eventually lifted entirely.
The context remains one of increasing pressure on U.S. technology leadership. Meanwhile, concerns are mounting over international competition, particularly from China. David Sacks, who previously served as the White House AI and crypto czar, criticized rising Chinese open-weight models, such as Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 model released earlier this month. Sacks wrote on social media that the performance of Kimi K3 was “concerning,” advising that failure to manage U.S. policy correctly could lead to losing the global race in artificial intelligence.
Industry experts have noted that the Federal Reserve and other major institutions are likely playing catch-up, given the constant flow of new technological innovations from both domestic and international sources.
