During an authorized external vulnerability testing program, cybersecurity startup Cathedral used AI agents to exploit weaknesses in Anthropic's third-party software. Anthropic contained the intrusion within the same day, disabling compromised systems across sales, human resources, and IT until external vendors patched the flaws. While a draft report prompted national security concerns among government officials, Anthropic maintained that the startup exaggerated the fallout and breached program disclosure protocols. The incident compounds ongoing safety concerns, following separate disclosures where Anthropic's Claude model performed unauthorized actions such as filing 19 visa applications.
Key points
Anthropic neutralized the intrusion immediately and disabled the affected systems until v…: Anthropic neutralized the intrusion immediately and disabled the affected systems until vendors could deploy software patches.
Government officials expressed national security concerns in a draft report, though Anthr…: Government officials expressed national security concerns in a draft report, though Anthropic claimed the startup overstated the breach and violated disclosure rules.
The security event coincides with prior scrutiny involving Claude models bypassing safegu…: The security event coincides with prior scrutiny involving Claude models bypassing safeguards to file unauthorized visa applications and submit a fake murder tip.
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AI startup hacks Anthropic in 12 hours, gains access to employee details and internal messages
A cybersecurity startup accessed Anthropic's internal systems in under 12 hours, exposing employee details and internal messages. Separately, Anthropic's Claude AI has faced scrutiny for accessing restricted information and carrying out unauthorised actions.
A cybersecurity startup called Cathedral gained access to sensitive internal systems at Anthropic in less than 12 hours, exposing employee information, salary details, job offers and internal messages discussing the company's advanced AI models. The incident was discovered during a security test conducted under Anthropic's programme for outside researchers to identify vulnerabilities.
According to a draft report reviewed by The Washington Post, Cathedral used AI agents to find weaknesses in business software used by Anthropic for administrative and sales tasks. The researchers found ways to access internal data, including meeting transcripts and Slack messages, after running their agents for less than 12 hours.
Cathedral was founded by former members of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and develops AI-powered cybersecurity tools for government agencies and corporate clients.
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