❯ Anthropic opens Mythos 5.1 to more vetted security teams and adds a tier for authorized penetration testing

Two programs become oneAnthropic announced on October 6 that it is expanding its Cyber Verification Program and folding the separately run Project Glasswing into it. Verified security professionals can use Claude Mythos 5.1, Opus 5.5 and Sonnet 5.5 with fewer restrictions on security tasks than ordinary users face. Mythos was previously open only to Glasswing members.

Three tiersAccording to SiliconANGLE, the new program has three tiers. The Defense tier covers work such as incident response and malware analysis, is open to individual researchers too, and answers applications within days. The Red Team tier allows penetration testing on systems an organization is authorized to test and accepts organizations only. The top tier has the fewest restrictions, is for organizations cleared to test critical systems such as power grids and telecom networks, and involves US government coordination in vetting.

More than 100,000 vulnerabilities this yearAnthropic also released figures. According to Reuters, 33 Glasswing partners found more than 129,000 verified vulnerabilities between April and July, and Anthropic’s own scanning of open-source software found 5,500 more between April and October, with over 33,000 rated critical or high severity. The company estimates the true impact is at least five times higher.

Looser access, closer watchingDefenders are given stronger tools so they can patch flaws before attackers find them. In exchange, organizations in the program must let Anthropic retain data to monitor for misuse, and even in the Red Team tier, actions such as deploying ransomware are still blocked in real time. Who gets the capability, and how much of it, is decided by Anthropic’s vetting and the US government’s.

▮ SIGNALThe strongest vulnerability-finding model is not sold openly but issued by tier according to who you are, and AI in cybersecurity is developing something like an export-licensing regime for arms.