{"id":12481,"date":"2026-06-11T11:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T11:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/feds-want-mythos-and-clear-usage-guidance-from-the-white-house\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T11:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T11:03:19","slug":"feds-want-mythos-and-clear-usage-guidance-from-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/feds-want-mythos-and-clear-usage-guidance-from-the-white-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Feds want Mythos\u2014and clear usage guidance from the White House"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Several senior federal technology officials responsible for agency cybersecurity and IT systems are frustrated by the lack of White House guidance on adopting Anthropic\u2019s powerful Mythos model, several sources told Nextgov\/FCW<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Agency chief information officers, or CIOs, manage swaths of digital infrastructure that supports government operations and are facing renewed pressure to better defend agency networks as officials assess how powerful AI systems could help hackers find and exploit vulnerabilities faster.<\/p>\n

Anthropic surgically rolled out Mythos access to select organizations in early April and recently expanded this effort \u2014 dubbed Project Glasswing \u2014 to partners in industry and other nations. The model has been going through a non-public distribution process on grounds that, in the wrong hands, it can boost adversaries\u2019 hacking capabilities.<\/p>\n

Select parts of the U.S. government, such as the intelligence community, already have access. But many federal tech leaders have privately complained that the White House Office of the National Cyber Director hasn\u2019t sufficiently briefed officials on plans for accessing, implementing and using the model to scan agency networks for vulnerabilities, according to five people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n

[Editor’s note: It’s been barely three months since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered Anthropic declared a national supply-chain risk and President Trump tweeted that “EVERY Federal Agency” should stop using its products. A judge has since ruled\u00a0these actions “arbitrary and capricious.”]\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid about their knowledge of issues with the White House.<\/p>\n

The agitation varies across agencies. Some CIOs have taken issue with a lack of direction in how they would use Mythos to scan for digital flaws, while others are more concerned with why they haven\u2019t gained access to the model altogether.<\/p>\n

There has been \u201ctremendous frustration\u201d with ONCD, the first person said. The ire stems, in part, from the fact that ONCD has largely prevented government tech leaders from making decisions about AI model use, while at the same time devoting much of its energy toward engagements with industry about AI policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s frustration watching the private sector utilize [these models]\u201d while many agency CIOs \u201care arbitrarily blocked,\u201d said the first person, adding that there\u2019s been a \u201cgeneral prohibition\u201d imposed on anyone who wants to engage with Anthropic further. They said there\u2019s been near-complete silence from ONCD, despite many government agencies wanting to use Mythos to find unseen vulnerabilities and fix them to better defend their networks.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody briefed us on [Mythos],\u201d the second person told Nextgov\/FCW<\/em>. \u201cI think the frustration stems from there being zero communication on the topic from ONCD.\u201d<\/p>\n

Absent guidance from ONCD or other executive branch agencies, Anthropic\u00a0held briefings\u00a0for federal CIOs in early May to help them learn more about Mythos and how it would impact the broader cybersecurity landscape, Nextgov\/FCW<\/em> first reported.<\/p>\n

The concerns are significant because they suggest that some of the federal government\u2019s most target-rich agencies may lack clear direction or consistent access to a tool that could help them find and fix security flaws more quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The federal enterprise is a prime target for hackers, as adversaries have for years sought access to government emails, employee records and other sensitive data.<\/p>\n

Several top officials have made plans to leave the White House cyber office in the last few weeks, including its head of policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ONCD did not respond to a request for comment. <\/strong>Anthropic declined to comment.<\/p>\n

The third person, who has held discussions with at least three federal CIOs, said several are asking the private sector to help them learn more about Mythos and protect their networks from AI-supported cyberattacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFederal CIOs are taking a system-wide view and approach to their technology,\u201d the third person told Nextgov\/FCW<\/em>. \u201cWhile they are interested in frontier AI models\u2019 capabilities to identify vulnerabilities in their networks, they know they can\u2019t wait for access. So they\u2019re taking steps now to coordinate with industry to accelerate their patching process, receive vulnerability disclosures as quickly as possible and operationalize a more automated remediation process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fourth person cautioned that, while there are frustrations, CIOs\u2019 concerns are not necessarily uniform across government. Pure access to powerful AI tools like Mythos is \u201cnot some magical silver bullet,\u201d the person said, because agencies would still have to validate the vulnerabilities they flag and determine how to respond. Some CIO offices may be more eager for Mythos access than others, depending on their cybersecurity maturity and other factors, the person added.<\/p>\n

While ONCD may be perceived as an obstacle, the office has been lobbying for broader access to frontier model capabilities in some cases, though its approach \u201cmay not be uniform,\u201d this fourth person said.<\/p>\n

Access dynamics could change in the coming months. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is planning a binding operational directive that would push agencies to prioritize the most urgent risks to federal networks, a shift informed in part by AI-enabled cyber threats, the agency\u2019s acting director said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The administration\u2019s approach to AI has shifted in recent months as officials confront an emerging class of cyber-focused models that can rapidly identify vulnerabilities across computer networks, becoming a major driver of discussions over how AI systems could reshape defensive and offensive cyber operations.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump recently signed an AI security executive order that encourages developers to submit powerful new models to a 30-day government review before public release. On Friday, he signed a memorandum aimed at speeding up government use of advanced AI across the military and intelligence community.\n\n<\/svg><\/p>\n<\/div>\n