Scoop: Top U.S. cyber agency doesn't have access to Anthropic's powerful hacking model

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency doesn't have access to Anthropic's powerful new https://www.axios.com/2026/04/07/anthropic-mythos-preview-cybersecurity-risks" target="_blank">Mythos Preview model, even though some other government agencies are using it, two sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: The country's top cyber defense agency, tasked with helping to secure everything from banks to power plants, is being left behind at a time when the industries it works with are deeply concerned about AI-powered cyberattacks overwhelming their defenses.

• Anthropic decided against a public release of Mythos due to its unprecedented ability to quickly discover and exploit security vulnerabilities.
• Instead, Anthropic provided it to more than 40 companies and organizations who are now testing it and working to shore up their systems.
• CISA is not on that list, the sources say.

State of play: Earlier this month, an Anthropic official told Axios the company briefed CISA and the Commerce Department on Mythos' capabilities.

• The Commerce Department's Center for AI Standards and Innovation has https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/14/anthropic-mythos-federal-agency-testing-00872439" target="_blank">reportedly been testing Mythos.
• The https://www.axios.com/2026/04/19/nsa-anthropic-mythos-pentagon" target="_blank">NSA is also among the organizations using Mythos, despite the Department of Defense, which oversees the agency, having declared Anthropic is a "supply chain risk."
• It's unclear if the ongoing turmoil within the agency during the second Trump administration played any role in the agency not moving more swiftly to secure access.
• Spokespeople for CISA and Anthropic did not respond to requests for comment.

The big picture: The Trump administration has spent the last year https://www.axios.com/2026/01/27/cisa-trump-administration-cuts-congress" target="_blank">reducing capacity at CISA, instead opting to give more policy influence to the White House's national cyber director and pushing some programs to the state and local level.

• CISA's acting director Nick Andersen https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2026/04/cisa-resources-more-limited-i-would-amid-shutdown-top-official-says/412939/" target="_blank">told lawmakers last week that the agency's resources are "more limited than I would like."
• Trump https://cyberscoop.com/trump-budget-proposal-would-cut-hundreds-of-millions-more-from-cisa/" target="_blank">proposed cutting as much as $707 million from the agency's budget in the upcoming fiscal year.
• CISA has already lost more than a https://www.axios.com/2025/06/03/cisa-staff-layoffs-resignations-trump-cuts" target="_blank">third of its workforce and https://www.axios.com/2026/01/27/cisa-trump-administration-cuts-congress" target="_blank">millions in funding.

Between the lines: National cyber director Sean Cairncross is among the Trump officials https://www.axios.com/2026/04/16/white-house-anthropic-ai-mythos-government-national-security" target="_blank">negotiating broader civilian agency access to Mythos.

• Treasury has also been https://www.axios.com/2026/04/16/white-house-anthropic-ai-mythos-government-national-security" target="_blank">negotiating access.
• Other organizations with access to Mythos have predominantly been using it to find exploitable security vulnerabilities in their own networks, sources tell Axios.

What to watch: Security teams at critical infrastructure organizations have often looked to CISA to share threat intelligence across their sectors and determine how to prioritize their security strategies.