OpenAI Extends Cybersecurity AI Access to UK Banks
OpenAI has extended an offer to nine major UK banks to access its cybersecurity AI tool, GPT-5.5 Cyber, following restrictions imposed by its competitor Anthropic, which has blocked these banks from previewing its AI model, Claude Mythos.
Both AI tools are engineered to detect concealed vulnerabilities within digital systems and have demonstrated capabilities that surpass human performance in certain hacking and cybersecurity tasks.
Anthropic's Mythos and Its Impact
Anthropic's Mythos attracted significant attention upon its announcement in April, with the company asserting it had identified a flaw in a legacy system that had remained undiscovered for nearly three decades.
This revelation has prompted concern among finance ministers, central bankers, and financial experts, who worry that the AI model could potentially compromise the security of financial systems globally.
Performance Comparison and Industry Concerns
The AI Security Institute, which conducted evaluations of both Anthropic's Mythos and OpenAI's GPT-5.5 Cyber, reported that the two models achieved "a similar level of performance" in the cybersecurity tasks assigned to them.
Last week, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey highlighted that UK banks had yet to gain access to Mythos for testing the security of their digital infrastructure and applications.
OpenAI's Response and Access Strategy
Former UK Chancellor George Osborne, now a senior executive at OpenAI, informed the BBC that Governor Bailey had not reached out to him directly regarding the issue. Osborne emphasized that OpenAI does not intend to "hide [5.5 Cyber] away or keep it to ourselves," but confirmed that, similar to Mythos, the tool would not be made universally available.
"The key things with these tools is that they need to be in the hands of the right people," Osborne stated.
"We want to make sure that the forces that are establishing order in our democracies have these tools, and the forces that want to disrupt us or commit crime, do not."
Banks Granted Access and Industry Distribution
The UK banks now granted access to OpenAI's GPT-5.5 Cyber include Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, and Nationwide. NatWest and Santander already have access through existing agreements.
The BBC has sought comment from Anthropic regarding whether it plans to provide UK financial institutions with access to Mythos.
Anthropic initially made Mythos available to a collective of 42 companies, predominantly US-based technology firms.
In contrast, OpenAI has adopted a more expansive access policy for Cyber 5.5, offering it within the European Union and to banks in Japan and Canada, among other regions.
Both companies impose charges for usage, with Anthropic allocating $100 million towards Mythos previews.
Expert Insights on AI in Cybersecurity
Professor Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert at Surrey University, commented on the capabilities of these AI tools:
"I don't necessarily expect these tools to surface things humans wouldn't find eventually but they are relentless and incredibly thorough in sorting through the millions of lines of code which are in banking apps alone," he said.
"In the UK, some of the code which banking systems still run on is incredibly old, and AI will be very useful at finding problems there.
They can do many weeks' worth of work in minutes – but they do also surface false positives, so you still need a human in the loop to check their findings."
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