Japan to alert critical infrastructure at risk of AI-driven cyberattacks

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan plans to issue alerts to critical infrastructure operators at risk of cyberattacks that utilize cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools, government countermeasures compiled Monday showed.

The move comes as Claude Mythos, the latest AI model developed by U.S. startup Anthropic, has sparked fears that it could be exploited to attack on a wide range of systems, given its exceptional ability to identify system vulnerabilities.

The Japanese government is also racing to establish a framework through the National Cybersecurity Office to respond to and prevent such attacks.

Hisashi Matsumoto, the minister in charge of cybersecurity, was instructed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi earlier this month to consider measures against cyberattacks amid the growing threat posed by advanced AI.

The countermeasures were compiled at a meeting on Monday attended by Matsumoto and senior officials from government bodies including the National Police Agency, the industry ministry and the infrastructure ministry.

Matsumoto warned that the malicious use of advanced AI could dramatically increase the scale and speed of cyberattacks, and said Japan needs to "step up the pace" in devising a response to such threats, calling it "an urgent issue."