White House Engages Anthropic Amid AI Cybersecurity Concerns

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles met with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Friday to discuss the artificial intelligence company’s new AI model Mythos. The meeting comes amid a dispute between the AI startup and the Pentagon over the use of its advanced AI capabilities, as well as growing concerns about cybersecurity risks.

The U.S. government is planning to make a version of Anthropic's frontier AI model Mythos available to major federal agencies despite concerns that the tool could sharply increase cybersecurity risk. Announced on April 7, Mythos is being deployed as part of Anthropic's Project Glasswing, a controlled initiative under which select organizations are permitted to use the unreleased Claude Mythos Preview model for defensive cybersecurity purposes.

The potential meeting follows reports that federal agencies and government officials are quietly sidestepping U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban on working with Anthropic. The Commerce Department's Center for AI Standards and Innovation is actively testing Mythos’ hacking prowess, according to Politico. Staff on at least three congressional committees have held or requested briefings from the company to learn about Mythos' cyber scanning capabilities over the past week.

Mythos has found thousands of major vulnerabilities in operating systems, web browsers, and other software. Its high-level coding capabilities give it an unprecedented ability to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities and devise ways to exploit them. Gregory Barbaccia, federal chief information officer at the White House Office of Management and Budget, told Cabinet department officials in an email that the OMB was setting up protections to allow their agencies to begin using Mythos.

A White House official said the administration is engaging with advanced AI labs about their models and the security of software. The official stressed that any new technology that might be used by the federal government would require a technical period for evaluation. Anthropic said in a statement that Amodei’s meeting included senior administration officials and explored how the San Francisco-based company and the U.S. government can work together on key shared priorities such as cybersecurity, America’s lead in the AI race, and AI safety.

The White House described the meeting as productive and constructive, highlighting opportunities for collaboration while balancing innovation and safety. The tensions between the Trump administration and Anthropic have been high, with President Trump attempting to stop all federal agencies from using Anthropic’s chatbot Claude due to a contract dispute with the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk, which the company has challenged in two federal courts.

Anthropic has said that Mythos is so 'strikingly capable' that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its ability to surpass human cybersecurity experts in finding and exploiting computer vulnerabilities. The model’s potential benefits and risks have also attracted attention outside the U.S., with the United Kingdom’s AI Security Institute evaluating the new model as a significant advancement.

Anthropic has rolled out Claude Mythos Preview through Project Glasswing, granting access to tech majors including Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, and more than 40 additional organizations that build or maintain critical software infrastructure. Experts have warned that the model can identify and exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities faster than companies can repair them.

The advanced coding and autonomous capabilities of Mythos could dramatically accelerate sophisticated cyberattacks, particularly in sectors such as banking that rely on complex, interconnected, and often decades-old technology systems. U.S. software stocks tumbled on April 9 after the Mythos launch on April 7 reignited fears that advances in AI could disrupt traditional firms.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell held a meeting with CEOs of major U.S. banks to brief them on the potential risks from the model. Banks are also in close contact with their European regulators regarding Mythos, according to Christian Sewing, president of the German banking association and CEO of Deutsche Bank.

President Donald Trump told CNBC that 'it's possible' there will be a deal allowing Anthropic's artificial intelligence models to be used within the Department of Defense. He stated during an interview with CNBC's 'Squawk Box,' 'They came to the White House a few days ago, and we had some very good talks with them, and I think they're shaping up.' Trump's comments follow a high-profile clash between the Pentagon and Anthropic that spilled into public view earlier this year.

The DOD declared Anthropic a supply chain risk in March, meaning that use of the company's technology purportedly threatens U.S. national security. The label requires defense contractors to certify that they don't use Anthropic's Claude AI models in their work with the military. Trump also ordered all federal agencies to 'IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic's technology' in a Truth Social post, adding that his administration would 'not do business with them again.'

Anthropic later sued the Trump administration in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., to try and reverse its blacklisting, and Trump's social media directive has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge. Tensions between the two camps appear to be easing, especially after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with senior administration officials to talk about the company's powerful new Mythos model on Friday.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were present for the discussion, which a White House spokesperson described as 'productive and constructive.' Anthropic announced Mythos earlier this month and limited the rollout to a select group of companies because of its advanced cybersecurity capabilities.