Anthropic's AI 'Mythos', kept private for being dangerously good at finding security vulnerabilities, faced criticism for being overhyped after it found only one minor bug in an actual open-source project test.
Imagine this: The world’s leading lock company makes a major announcement, “Our newly created master key is so incredibly powerful and dangerous—capable of opening any safe in the world in an instant—that we can absolutely never release it to the public.” People would naturally wonder about the identity of this master key with a mix of fear and curiosity. The name of this master key is the latest artificial intelligence (AI).
| In fact, something similar happened recently in the AI industry. Prominent AI company Anthropic made headlines by suggesting that their new AI model, ‘Mythos,’ was so exceptional at finding software security vulnerabilities that it was too dangerous to release to the public [[Security - Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says cURL creator | The Helper](https://www.thehelper.net/threads/anthropic%E2%80%99s-bug-hunting-mythos-was-greatest-marketing-stunt-ever-says-curl-creator.201066/)]. |
| However, when this ‘master key’ was put to the test on one of the world’s strongest and most complex safes, the conclusion was entirely different from what people expected. Daniel Stenberg, the creator of ‘cURL’—the core software that forms the backbone of countless electronic devices and internet systems worldwide—personally verified this AI’s capabilities, and his assessment was uncompromising. He pointed out that the world’s fuss over Mythos’s abilities was nothing more than the “greatest marketing stunt ever” [[Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says cURL creator | daily.dev](https://app.daily.dev/posts/anthropic-s-bug-hunting-mythos-was-greatest-marketing-stunt-ever-says-curl-creator-lifvxyq4b)]. |
So, what was really inside the box of this AI hacker that was supposedly ‘hidden for being too dangerous’? Today on MindTickleBytes, we will uncover the full story behind this intriguing incident and discuss how to see through the hype surrounding AI technology.
Why It Matters
The reason this incident is more than just a passing headline and closely touches our daily lives is that the software tested was ‘cURL’ (a widely used free open-source program used for exchanging data on the internet). Simply put, whether you’re refreshing a weather app on your smartphone, loading a movie list on Netflix, or even when a modern car communicates with a server, cURL is working behind the scenes. In other words, if an easily exploitable security hole were to appear in cURL, digital devices all over the world would be simultaneously exposed to hacking risks.
Anthropic implied that they had developed ‘Mythos,’ a terrifying AI that miraculously finds holes in such core systems [Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says …]. If this were true, it would be as if hackers got their hands on a horrific weapon capable of paralyzing the entire internet. People worried, “Is AI now escaping human control to figure out how to destroy systems on its own?” It was news that naturally put corporate security officers on high alert.
| However, reality was quite different from a sci-fi movie. The real threat approaching the developers who manage open-source projects wasn’t an ‘AI rebellion.’ Rather, it was a barrage of low-quality warning notices recklessly spat out by AIs claiming to be ‘safe.’ cURL creator Stenberg complained that as AI has advanced recently, it has been flooding open-source project maintainers with an overwhelming amount of security vulnerability reports, far exceeding the speed at which maintainers can actually read and process them [[Curlcreatorwho calledMythosa “PRstunt”saysAI will… | Cybernews](https://cybernews.com/security/curl-bug-bounty-ai-security-reports-daniel-stenberg/)]. |
In other words, it’s not a super-smart AI causing problems, but rather an underdeveloped AI recklessly hitting the report button, exaggerating the minor dust it finds as ‘bombs.’ This incident shows why distinguishing between genuine technological advancement and corporate marketing is one of the most critical survival skills in modern society.
The Explainer
What exactly does the process of ‘finding vulnerabilities in code’ entail? If words like code or security feel a bit unfamiliar, let’s use an analogy.
For example, imagine there is a massive book (software code) that spans 176,000 pages. This book contains the most important rules in the world, so even a single incorrect word could cause a major accident. Human reviewers (developers) stay up for days reading this book to find typos or places where the context is off.
The AI security tools that enter the scene at this point are like incredibly fast and meticulous ‘automatic spell checkers.’ AI doesn’t get tired eyes like humans do, and it can scan tens of thousands of pages in a second, pinpointing exactly where spacing is wrong or a period is missing. In this regard, AI is definitely a very useful tool that assists humans. Mythos, which was tested this time, also played a positive role by analyzing code to provide useful feedback, offering excellent explanations and descriptions of errors for the team to fix [Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says cURL creator].
However, finding ‘new security vulnerabilities’ (entirely new holes that hackers can invade through) is on a completely different level from simple spell-checking. It is a creative process—much like a master detective in a mystery novel twisting the context of the text in an ingenious way that no one else thought of to uncover a hidden password.
Mythos was a pro at finding past mistakes—that is, ‘patterns of already known errors’—but it lacked the deductive reasoning to independently discover ‘entirely new types of vulnerabilities that never existed before,’ which requires human creativity [cURLCreatorCallsAnthropic’sBug‑HuntingMythosthe Ultimate…].
This is exactly why Daniel Stenberg asserted that Mythos was the “greatest marketing stunt ever” [Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stu …]. People thought it was a villainous hacker out to destroy the world, but it turned out to be just a diligent proofreading temp who only memorized existing rules. It was a disappointing plot twist, far removed from the image of something so dangerous that Anthropic was reluctant to release it.
Where We Stand
So, what did the actual report card look like?
Anthropic provided Mythos testing opportunities to influential open-source (software where anyone can view the code and participate in development) projects through the Linux Foundation’s ‘Project Glasswing’ program. Daniel Stenberg was also able to access the analysis report through this channel. (Interestingly, Stenberg himself noted that he was never given permission to directly manipulate or access the Mythos AI model itself) [cURL creator Daniel Stenberg calls Anthropic’s Mythos AI bug-hunting tool “the greatest marketing stunt ever”].
And so, Mythos thoroughly scanned the massive 176,000 lines of code that make up cURL [Curl creator tests “too dangerous” Mythos AI and calls it “marketing …]. Did terrifying, world-ending bugs pour out? Not at all.
In its initial analysis, Mythos waved a flag pointing out a total of 5 issues. However, when Stenberg meticulously checked them, 3 of them were merely documented shortcomings that the developers already knew about. Another 1 was an ordinary bug unrelated to security. And only the grand final 1 could be classified as a security vulnerability [Curl creator tests “too dangerous” Mythos AI and calls it “marketing …].
But even this single security vulnerability was merely at a very minor, ordinary level with ‘low severity’ [Anthropic’s Bug-Hunting Mythos Was Greatest Marketing Stunt Ever, Says cURL Creator - Slashdot]. It was far too miserable a result to prove how terrifying Mythos was. This small flaw will be published as a fix (CVE, a standard identifier for publicly known software security vulnerabilities) with the upcoming release of cURL version 8.21.0 in late June. Regarding this, Stenberg downplayed it, saying, “The flaw is absolutely nothing that will make anyone gasp for air” [Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says cURL creator].
There is an even more painful point of comparison. According to Stenberg, over the recent 8 to 10 months, other ordinary(?) AI code analysis tools like AISLE, Zeropath, and OpenAI Codex Security led to as many as 200 to 300 bug fixes in cURL. He nailed down the point that the excessive expectations surrounding Mythos are just marketing, not a major AI security innovation, stating that Mythos “is not superior to other tools to the point of leaving a meaningful mark in the field of code analysis” [cURL creator Daniel Stenberg calls Anthropic’s Mythos AI bug-hunting tool “the greatest marketing stunt ever”].
What’s Next
This episode leaves us with an important lesson on how we look at technology. As the British public broadcaster BBC sharply pointed out, it aligns perfectly with the interests of AI companies like Anthropic to announce to the world that their AI tools possess ‘innovative capabilities never seen before’ [What is Anthopic’sClaudeMythosand what risks does it pose?]. We have entered an era where even the potential dangers of a technology are used as attractive advertising material to draw investment and grab people’s attention.
Therefore, going forward, we must always apply a ‘reality filter’ when encountering news. AI technology is certainly advancing at a remarkable speed. The ability of AI to scan complex code in just seconds and catch easily missed typos is significantly easing the burden on human developers and raising the overall quality of software.
However, you can temporarily put away the fear that AI will suddenly turn into a hacker dominating the cyber world tomorrow. As the Mythos case proves, existing AI is still not creative and remains at the level of combining and comparing previously learned data. What we really need to worry about is perhaps not ‘an AI that is too smart,’ but rather ‘our own impatience’ in falling for the plausible outputs and exaggerated advertisements put out by AI.
Experts expect that AI companies will continue to package and release new products, touting them as ‘groundbreaking models capable of threatening humanity.’ As the BBC’s analysis suggests, now more than ever, the ability to sharply distinguish between legitimate, evidence-based claims and empty hype in the AI field is becoming increasingly demanding and crucial [What is Anthopic’sClaudeMythosand what risks does it pose?].
AI’s Take
MindTickleBytes AI Reporter’s Take: The evolution of marketing that packages technology is as fierce as the speed of technological advancement itself. “Hidden because it’s dangerous” is a magic spell that always stimulates human curiosity most strongly. Ultimately, Stenberg’s spot-on criticism reminds us that until AI truly dominates the world, we humans must cultivate robust rationality to check the facts so we aren’t swept away by this flashy ‘feast of words.’
References
- Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says cURL creator
- Anthropic’s Bug-Hunting Mythos Was Greatest Marketing Stunt Ever, Says cURL Creator - Slashdot
- Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says cURL creator • The Register Forums
- cURL creator Daniel Stenberg calls Anthropic’s Mythos AI bug-hunting tool “the greatest marketing stunt ever”
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[Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says cURL creator daily.dev](https://app.daily.dev/posts/anthropic-s-bug-hunting-mythos-was-greatest-marketing-stunt-ever-says-curl-creator-lifvxyq4b) -
[Security - Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says cURL creator The Helper](https://www.thehelper.net/threads/anthropic%E2%80%99s-bug-hunting-mythos-was-greatest-marketing-stunt-ever-says-curl-creator.201066/) - Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says …
- Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stu …
- Curl creator tests “too dangerous” Mythos AI and calls it “marketing …
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[Curlcreatorwho calledMythosa “PRstunt”saysAI will… Cybernews](https://cybernews.com/security/curl-bug-bounty-ai-security-reports-daniel-stenberg/) - cURLCreatorCallsAnthropic’sBug‑HuntingMythosthe Ultimate…
- What is Anthopic’sClaudeMythosand what risks does it pose?
- The greatest hacking tool in human history
- The greatest marketing stunt ever (hype)
- An AI that can completely replace developers
- 1
- 5
- Over 200
- They cannot find even simple, existing bugs at all.
- They cannot independently discover entirely new types of vulnerabilities without human creativity.
- They write code themselves to destroy programs.