Japan said it will form a task force to tackle cybersecurity risks affecting the financial sector after concerns emerged related to Anthropic's Mythos AI model, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama announced on Friday.
Katayama said the decision to create the group was reached during a meeting that included the Financial Services Agency, the Bank of Japan, the National Cybersecurity Office, Japan's three largest banks and the Japan Exchange Group. The minister described the situation as urgent, telling reporters that "I told the meeting that this is a crisis that is already at hand, and similar concerns were also voiced by the financial industry."
The move follows Anthropic's disclosure that a preview of its Mythos model identified "thousands" of major vulnerabilities affecting every major operating system and web browser. That claim has intensified worries about the resilience of conventional software security practices.
Security experts cited in discussions have warned that the model can find and exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities at a pace that may outstrip the ability of companies to fix them. Such a dynamic, they say, could speed up cyberattacks in industries like banking that depend on complex, highly interconnected technology stacks, many components of which have been in place for decades.
Regulators in other regions - including parts of Asia, Europe and the United States - have already advised banks to reassess their defenses and preparedness in light of the risks. Katayama noted that, to date, there have been no reported breaches directly attributed to the Mythos model.
The finance minister emphasized the particular sensitivity of the financial system because of its interconnected nature and the real-time character of many of its operations. She warned that when problems occur in such an environment, they can spread more quickly than in other sectors.
"Because of this, a cyberattack can immediately spill over into market disruptions and undermine confidence," Katayama said.
Officials agreed the new task force will focus on coordination among regulators, market infrastructure operators and major banks to assess vulnerabilities and strengthen defenses. Details on the task force's composition, mandate and timetable were not provided in Katayama's remarks.
As discussions continue, authorities and industry participants will monitor developments related to the Mythos preview and related security assessments, while seeking to ensure that potential threats do not translate into operational incidents or broader market disruptions.
Context and next steps
The immediate impetus for the task force stems from the reported findings associated with the Mythos preview and the recognition that AI-driven vulnerability discovery could change the speed and scale of cyber risk. Stakeholders in the meeting signaled a shared concern and a desire to centralize efforts to shore up the financial system's cyber resilience.