Anthropic has launched a critical infrastructure defense program, entrusting its cutting-edge Claude model, on-site engineers, and threat research to vendors already responsible for protection. The initial focus includes operational technologies behind the power grid, water supply, factories, and transportation networks, as well as government systems. The initiative is placed under the newly established Anthropic Cyber Mission.

There are 11 founding partners. Consulting partners include Accenture, Booz Allen, Deloitte, and PwC. Security partners are CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, and industrial security firms Dragos, Insane Cyber, and Nozomi Networks. Equipment partners are Hitachi and Rockwell Automation. Anthropic states that several partners are already using Claude to fix vulnerabilities and assist clients in doing the same. The company clarifies that AI cannot resolve all challenges in critical infrastructure; the goal is to identify and patch weaknesses before power outages or water quality issues arise.

The controllers, control software, and industrial networks of these systems are designed for decades of lifespan, many cannot be patched while offline, and known defects can persist for years. Operators, regardless of size, rely on a few trusted vendors to determine where vulnerabilities lie and what patches can be applied to operational systems. The plan is to first learn from this small group of vendors which practices are effective and executable. Reports will be delivered faster but may contain inaccuracies. The long-term goal is to automate most sorting and patching and develop new security architectures and coding standards.

The same mission has also launched a free scanning service for open-source projects called OSS Scanner, using the company's strongest model for regular vulnerability scans. Previously, Anthropic committed $100 million in usage credits through Project Glasswing and donated $4 million to organizations including OpenSSF and the Apache Software Foundation. The company also claims to have provided cutting-edge models and incident response, red team support to over half of U.S. states and large critical infrastructure operators.

The plan does not directly hand models to every water plant or substation. Access is granted to companies managing security projects for operators, safeguarding industrial networks, and manufacturing and patching equipment. The models come with usage controls to prevent them from being used to attack these systems. Several partners have already begun remediation, not just signing a list.

Buyers are security and industrial control vendors holding clients in the power grid, water, and transportation sectors. Sellers are Anthropic's cutting-edge model credits and on-site engineers. The driving force behind incidents comes from AI lowering the cost and speeding up attacks, along with the inability of old systems to go offline. Funding flows from usage credits and engineering support to partner client projects. The 11 partners and open-source maintainers benefit. Smaller operators without on-site slots and vulnerability services still priced by manual sorting are under pressure. Reports will be faster, but errors will also be included.

Source: Public Information