Anthropic expands cybersecurity access to Claude models

Anthropic announced on October 6 that it is expanding a program that allows vetted cybersecurity professionals to test its most capable artificial intelligence models with fewer safety restrictions. The move follows the discovery of more than 100,000 software vulnerabilities this year through its Project Glasswing initiative.

Between April and July, partners under Glasswing detected at least 129,000 verified vulnerabilities while protecting critical software. Anthropic's open-source scanner identified another 5,500 between April and October. To date, more than 33,000 have been classified as critical or high severity. Anthropic indicated these numbers likely understate the total impact, which it expects could be at least five times higher because the findings represent a survey of a limited group of partners.

The updated Cyber Verification Program merges two initiatives Anthropic operated over the past six months. Project Glasswing provided organizations safeguarding critical software with access to Claude Mythos, while the original verification program granted vetted security teams restricted access to Claude Opus and Sonnet. Anthropic's April preview of Claude Mythos had previously raised concerns that artificial intelligence could breach software before defenses were established.

The revamped program has three tiers, all providing access to Claude Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5, Mythos 5.1, and future models. The Defense tier covers incident response and malware analysis for security teams, critical infrastructure operators, open-source software maintainers, and vetted researchers. The Red Team tier adds authorized penetration testing and simulated attacks for eligible organizations.

The Specialized tier offers the fewest restrictions and is reserved for a small group of authorized organizations testing safety-critical systems, including power grids, flight systems, and interbank transfer infrastructure. Anthropic vets each member alongside the US government, and existing Glasswing participants will transition directly into this tier.