Frankfurt - The European Central Bank is warning lenders in the euro zone to move quickly to defend against a new wave of cyberattacks powered by artificial intelligence.
ECB board member Frank Elderson, who also serves as vice chair of the bank's supervisory arm, said in a recent interview that euro area banks currently do not have access to the AI model used by some U.S. institutions but cannot afford to wait.
"Lack of access is not an excuse for inaction. On the contrary, it makes it even more critical that banks step up and act now," Elderson stated.
The warning comes as Reuters reports large U.S. banks that were granted early access to the Anthropic Mythos AI model are racing to fix dozens of data system vulnerabilities flagged by the tool. Cybersecurity experts now see Mythos as a major challenge to the banking industry, and regulators have issued a series of cautionary notices.
Elderson added that institutions need to prepare for even more capable AI models in the future that could launch increasingly aggressive attacks.