New Delhi, Apr 23 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday met heads of banks to discuss risks related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) following global concerns over Anthropic's Mythos model threatening data security of financial systems.

The meeting assumes significance in view of development of the Claude Mythos AI model by Anthropic, claiming that it has found vulnerabilities in many major operating systems.

According to sources, risks and measures needed to deal with AI were discussed at the meeting.

The meeting chaired by the Finance Minister deliberated on various risks that AI posed on the financial sector, sources said, adding that banks have been urged to take preemptive measures to secure their systems, data and money of customers.

The meeting was attended by top officials of banks, officials from the Reserve Bank of India, and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

According to a senior finance ministry official, the ministry and the RBI are studying the extent of risks that the Indian financial sector faces from this breach.

So far, Indian systems are secure and there is no need for unduly worrying, the official said, adding that the RBI is also doing due-diligence at its end to ensure India's financial sector is secure.

As per the reports, Anthropic said Mythos can outperform humans at cyber-security tasks, finding and exploiting thousands of bugs, including 27-year-old vulnerabilities, in major operating systems and web browsers.

Anthropic, an US-based artificial intelligence company, said unauthorised access was made on its new model Mythos, which is deemed too dangerous for public release.

Announced on April 7, Mythos is being deployed as part of Anthropic's 'Project Glasswing', a controlled initiative under which select organisations ‌are permitted to use the​ unreleased Claude Mythos Preview model for defensive cybersecurity.

Mythos is a powerful AI model that has sparked concerns among regulators about its unprecedented ability ‌to identify digital security vulnerabilities and potential for misuse.

Anthropic chose not to release Mythos publicly, arguing that its capabilities pose unprecedented cybersecurity risks, as per reports.

Earlier in the day, Financial Services Secretary speaking at an event said AI is both a threat as well as opportunity for the fintech industry. PTI DP TRB

Artificial intelligence cybersecurity risks prompt banks to strengthen financial systems, data protection, and customer fund security. Artificial intelligence-related cybersecurity risks in the financial sector were discussed in a meeting between the Finance Minister and heads of banks, with participation of the Reserve Bank of India and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The discussion focused on the need for banks to take pre-emptive measures to secure systems, customer data and funds in light of global concerns raised by Anthropic's Mythos model, which has been reported to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in operating systems and browsers and to present potential misuse risks. The ministry and the RBI are examining the extent of risk faced by the Indian financial sector and assessing safeguards at their end.