These Stocks Could Be Vulnerable if Anthropic's Mythos Goes Haywire

Recently, Anthropic announced that its latest artificial intelligence (AI) model, Mythos, is too capable to be released to the public, given its ability to find and exploit cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The company said that evolving AI is getting more capable and far more dangerous than before: "The fallout -- for economies, public safety, and national security -- could be severe."

Sounds intimidating. No wonder investors have already sent the share prices of some companies tumbling on this new threat, and more share-price drops could follow if bad actors or rogue nations use Mythos to cause havoc.

Three sectors that could be the most at risk for share-price disruption are cybersecurity, banking, and cryptocurrency stocks. And among these sectors, a handful of companies could potentially feel negative effects more acutely, including Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN).

These companies aren't necessarily more vulnerable to cyberattacks from Mythos than any other company. But given their leading position in their respective markets, these companies' share prices could be especially vulnerable.

Image source: Getty Images.

Okta and cybersecurity stocks are already reacting

Let's look at Okta as an example first. The company's core product is identity and access management (IAM) services that help its customers create a secure hierarchy of who is allowed to access certain files and data, and who isn't.

The company has more than 20,000 customers, many of which are prominent companies, and its share price tumbled after Mythos was first announced. If someone uses Mythos to exploit a security vulnerability after the AI model is officially released, investors would likely respond in the same way they did when it was first announced -- by selling off shares, causing the price to fall quickly.

Okta wouldn't be the only cybersecurity stock to drop, but investors may punish it more because it's a leading IAM company. The company's share price is already down about 24% over the past year, and it's unlikely that a major cyberattack using Mythos against any company would help ease investor sentiment in its stock.

The financial sector could feel the pinch, too

Next up is JPMorgan Chase. As the world's largest bank by market capitalization, JPMorgan could feel the impact of a financial breach caused by Mythos even if it's not the one that experiences it.

The bank is clearly taking the potential threats from Mythos seriously, with CEO Jamie Dimon recently saying that the new AI models make cybersecurity "worse" and that Mythos revealed that "a lot more vulnerabilities need to be fixed."

The bank also released its own paper highlighting Mythos' capabilities and dangers, and included one unnerving quote from Sam Bowman, an engineer at Anthropic: "Working with this model has been a wild ride. We've come a long way on safety but we still expect the next capability jump of this scale to be a huge challenge."

Not exactly reassuring, to say the least. JPMorgan and other bank stocks obviously have a lot at risk, and the fact that the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve recently met with the CEOs of nearly all major U.S. banks to discuss Mythos indicates just how serious a threat this could be.

JPMorgan could be ahead of its peers in security, but if someone uses Mythos to wreak havoc on any financial institution, the company's shares could dip on fears that the financial sector isn't as safe as once thought.

Coinbase and cryptocurrency stocks could slide on a breach

Cryptocurrency exchanges have been a big target for cybercriminals in the past, and if they end up using Mythos to make those breaches more common or harder to detect, then the share prices of Coinbase and other crypto exchanges could decline.

There are currently 9.2 million monthly transacting users on Coinbase, and the company has about $376 billion in assets on its platform. At this scale, Coinbase has a lot at stake.

Coinbases' head of cybersecurity, Philip Martin, recently told CNBC that the company is in "close communication with Anthropic" and the major crypto exchanges are likely taking a closer look at their security to ensure that any potential vulnerabilities are found.

But if someone uses Mythos to exploit any existing vulnerabilities on any crypto exchange, it's likely that shares of Coinbase could fall on fears that the company could be at risk, too.

Short-term volatility could be ahead

More than 40 companies have already received access to the preview version of Mythos, which Anthropic believes will help them find and fix existing vulnerabilities, as well as learn how to use Mythos to fight attacks.

Ultimately, Mythos could help companies -- including Okta, J.P. Morgan, and Coinbase -- become better at cybersecurity. But in the short term, I think crypto exchange, banking, and cybersecurity stocks could feel the pain if even just one major Mythos-related event occurs in the near future.

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase and Okta. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.