Bank of Canada, Major Lenders Met on Anthropic AI Cyber Risk

Article content

(Bloomberg) — The Bank of Canada and the country’s major banks and financial firms met Friday to discuss cybersecurity risks raised by Anthropic PBC’s latest artificial intelligence model.

Article content

The gathering followed a similar move by US policymakers earlier in the week. Bloomberg News reported Thursday that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell summoned Wall Street leaders for an urgent discussion about Anthropic’s Mythos and similar AI models. The executives included Citigroup Inc.’s Jane Fraser and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s David Solomon. 

Article content

Article content

Article content

The Canadian meeting involved members of a body known as the Canadian Financial Sector Resiliency Group, which includes representatives from the six largest domestic banks including Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank. Members also include the parent company of the Toronto Stock Exchange, the federal finance department, and financial regulatory agencies including the country’s bank regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

Article content

Article content

It was an executive-level gathering of the group to share information and perspectives on the issue, not a discussion about any active or imminent cyber threats, according to a person familiar with the discussions. 

Article content

“We are in active conversations with institutions to raise awareness, as well as assess this situation and its potential impact on the resilience of the financial system,” a spokesperson for OSFI said in an emailed statement. The regulator is engaged with banks “on recent developments regarding advanced artificial intelligence models and their potential cybersecurity implications.”

Article content

Article content

The meeting and OSFI’s comments are further signals of the growing concern among regulators globally that more powerful AI models will lead to a new breed of cyber attacks against the financial industry.

Article content

Banks are increasingly creating dedicated teams to use AI to find savings and identify business opportunities, but the companies are also seeking to manage the risks that come with the fast-moving technology. Since 2023, OSFI has been tasked with evaluating whether the country’s banks and insurers have adequate policies in place to protect themselves against security threats. It’s also issued a guideline on technology and cyber risk management.  

Article content

“OSFI does not plan to issue short-term changes to its existing guidelines in response to this emerging threat,” the spokesperson said, but added that the regulator will continue sharing “threat and mitigation information in coordination with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and monitor risks accordingly.”

Article content

Mythos, Glasswing

Article content

Anthropic’s Mythos is a sophisticated new model capable of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in every major operating system and web browser, the company has said. It’s so powerful, that the company has decided not to release it to the general public. Instead, it’s formed a group called Project Glasswing to provide testing access to a group of major tech companies as well as JPMorgan Chase & Co.