Banks on High Alert for AI-Driven Cyber Threats, ATM and Mobile Banking Could Be Suspended

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Countries around the world are beginning to brace for a new ‘catastrophe’ arising from increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) technology, such as the Mythos model from Anthropic. Following Hong Kong, Japan has now issued a special warning targeting the banking industry. The head of Japan’s banking lobby said that lenders in Japan may be forced to temporarily suspend services such as ATMs and mobile banking if advanced AI models ultimately pose a serious threat to the banking system. Cutting-edge AI systems, like Mythos from Anthropic, can rapidly identify vulnerabilities in software systems. This has sparked major concerns about the potential for a wave of cyber attacks. “There are concerns about an increase in sophisticated cyber attacks that go beyond what has been anticipated,” said Masahiko Kato, chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association and president of Mizuho Bank, at a press conference, as quoted by Reuters on Friday (19/6/2026). “Certain services such as ATMs could be proactively suspended to protect customer assets,” he said. Anthropic warned during the launch of Mythos in April that the product had uncovered thousands of software vulnerabilities, including weaknesses in every major operating system and browser. Anthropic also stated that the impact of its proliferation could be severe. Banks have tightened scrutiny of such AI tools, and the US government last week ordered Anthropic to suspend access to its advanced AI model for foreign nationals on national security grounds.