The Korean Telecom Giant at the Center of Anthropic’s Mythos Controversy

The Trump Administration move to impose export regulations on Anthropic’s the most powerful AI technology followed a dispute over a company that gave South Korean giant SK Telecom the right to use its Claude Mythos brand, according to people familiar with the matter. US officials were worried about SK Telecom’s claims by China, the people said.

Those concerns seem to have increased since Amazon later announced the vulnerability going to the White House was revealed in Fable 5, the heavily guarded Mythos book that Anthropic released to the public on June 9. Amazon researchers said it was possible to hack some of Fable 5’s security and gain access to Mythos’ dangerous abilities, although Anthropic is external cybersecurity experts He says that this danger is not only for Claude.

A combination of events led the White House to realize it could no longer trust Anthropic to protect its advanced AI technology, according to a person close to the administration. On Friday, the Trump administration ordered Anthropic to change access to Mythos and Fable 5 for all foreign nationals, including US immigrants.

Rather than nationalize its technology, an approach that would be difficult to implement and maintain confidentiality, Anthropic decided it would be best to ban the use of all these types. The White House is still Anthropic be ambivalent after days of discussions about bringing Claude Mythos and Fable 5 online.

Anthropic declined to comment. The White House and SK Telecom did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Washington Post previously reported that Trump administration officials were shocked to learn that Mythos’ recipients included “A South Korean telecommunications company“He is believed to have had links to China, although the article did not name the company.” In response to this, SK Telecom told a Korean newspaper that “the statements of unknown people in foreign affairs have no truth, and our company has no cooperation with China.”

A person close to Anthropic said the company saw SK Telecom’s opportunity to move to Mythos and the weaknesses identified by Amazon as separate challenges. They realized it letter The US government sent Anthropic a request to restrict access to Claude Mythos and Fable 5 to US citizens only and does not refer to the Korean or Chinese company.

Because Claude Mythos has a unique ability to identify software problems, Anthropic prevent early entry to a small group of trusted organizations through a program called Project Glasswing. Earlier this month, SK Telecom, a South Korean wireless carrier, became one of nearly 150 companies to receive access to Mythos as Anthropic expanded the program.following several weeks of close cooperation” by foreign experts and the US government.

SK Telecom has poured a lot of money into Anthropic several times, including a $100 million money in 2023 that coincided with the creation of a trade agreement to develop an AI model compatible with the telecommunications industry. It was one of several Korean organizations involved in Project Glasswing, along with Samsung Electronics and the Korea Internet & Security Agency.

Earlier this month, shortly after Anthropic announced the latest expansion of Project Glasswing, the White House asked Anthropic to end SK Telecom’s access to Mythos, according to a person close to the AI ​​lab. The company complied immediately, sources tell WIRED, and the US government did not threaten to impose export controls on the model at the time.

Although SK Telecom itself does not appear to have major operations in China, it is part of a larger conglomerate called the SK Group, whose affiliates hold many of the country’s businesses that span semiconductors, energy, and other industries.