The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in an article released on Thursday, warned that financial stability risks around the world are intensifying as more advanced artificial intelligence tools emerge.
According to the IMF, AI’s rapid evolution has transformed how financial systems respond to vulnerabilities and sudden disruptions. However, it has also accelerated the development of offensive cyber tools capable of bypassing existing defense systems against cyber threats.
The IMF warned that such threats are becoming increasingly inevitable for digital financial systems worldwide if proper safeguards are not implemented in time.
According to the IMF’s analysis, “extreme cyber-incident losses could trigger funding strains, raise solvency concerns, and disrupt broader markets.”
Modern financial systems heavily rely on interconnected digital infrastructure, including software, cloud services, payment networks, and data systems. This interconnectedness increases the potential impact of cyberattacks.
The report also cited advanced AI models such as Anthropic’s unreleased “Claude Mythos,” which allegedly has the capability to identify and exploit vulnerabilities across major operating systems and web browsers, even when operated by non-experts.
“Mythos has discovered thousands of high-severity vulnerabilities across nearly all major operating systems and web browsers,” Anthropic said last month.
The company also announced plans to release Mythos exploitation tools to 40 entities in the United States before gradually expanding access to other regions to help institutions identify and fix vulnerabilities.
The IMF noted that while advanced AI cyber capabilities are not yet widely available, safeguards could quickly erode as AI models continue to improve and spread globally.
Despite these risks, the IMF stressed that AI remains a critical tool in strengthening cybersecurity defenses.
“When attackers operate at machine speed, defenders must do the same,” the IMF said.
AI-powered systems are increasingly being used by financial institutions to detect threats, prevent fraud, identify vulnerabilities, and respond to cyber incidents more efficiently.
The IMF called on policymakers to treat cybersecurity as a core financial stability issue by strengthening resilience measures, improving supervision of systemic risks, and enhancing public-private coordination on threat intelligence and incident response.
“Defenses will inevitably be breached, so resilience must also be a priority, specifically to limit how far incidents spread and ensure rapid recovery,” the IMF article stated.
As AI continues to reshape the global financial landscape, concerns are growing over whether current financial systems can withstand increasingly sophisticated cyber threats in the years ahead.