A group of 76 cybersecurity experts, including notable figures like Alex Stamos and Jon Callas, published an open letter to the U.S. government, calling for the lifting of export controls on Anthropic’s Fable and Mythos models. According to the letter, the government’s decision to restrict access to these models has deprived cybersecurity defenders of critical tools needed to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in software and products. The letter warns that pulling away these capabilities without a solid rationale is dangerous, especially with adversaries rapidly advancing in cybersecurity threats.
The U.S. government ordered Anthropic to limit the export of Fable and Mythos in late May, citing national security concerns, though the specific reasons for the order were not disclosed. In response, Anthropic suspended access to the models for all users worldwide. The company had previously restricted access to Mythos to around 50 companies, later expanding that list to include about 150 organizations in 15 countries. Fable, a public version of Mythos, was released with strict guardrails to prevent misuse in fields like cybersecurity, biology, and chemistry.
The letter also highlights concerns about a method reportedly demonstrated in an Amazon research paper that could bypass these guardrails, though experts argue the method described does not constitute a real jailbreak. The letter calls for regulations that are transparent, fairly enforced, and based on scientific research, used only to the extent necessary to protect public safety. Source: techcrunch
