Anthropic model risks trigger market panic; cybersecurity sector declines across the board

The U.S. network security sector faced broad downward pressure on Friday, with shares of CrowdStrike (CRWD.US), Palo Alto Networks (PANW.US), and Zscaler (ZS.US) all falling by more than 5%. Cloudflare (NET.US) dropped by about 3.2%. At the same time, the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUGG.US) was once down 6.1%, and its year-to-date decline has already exceeded 20%.

The latest market pullback was driven by concerns sparked by a media report. The report said that an AI model being tested by Anthropic could be exploited by hackers to bypass existing network security defenses. Citing an unpublished draft blog post, the article said the company believes the model “could bring unprecedented cybersecurity risks.” The draft was made accessible due to technical reasons, and Anthropic later confirmed that it is indeed testing the new model, but did not respond to further details.

It is reported that the model is called “Claude Capybara,” and it is currently only available for testing to a small number of early users. Anthropic plans to share the related testing results before the official release to help security firms strengthen defenses in advance.

Analysts noted that the rapid evolution of AI technology is changing the landscape of cyber offense and defense. Bernstein analyst Peter Weed said Anthropic’s move is intended to prevent its product from being maliciously used, and is a “necessary and reasonable security measure.”

It is also worth noting that earlier this year, security incidents already exposed related risks. Hackers used an Anthropic chat bot to launch an attack on government agencies in Mexico, stealing tax and voter data. Anthropic later said it had taken steps to stop the activity and ban the involved accounts.

This is not the first time an Anthropic-related development has triggered volatility in the cybersecurity sector. Previously, when the company released a tool that can scan for code vulnerabilities and provide remediation suggestions, it also caused security stocks, including CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks, to fall broadly.

However, some Wall Street firms still hold a positive outlook on the sector. Analysts believe the market may be “overinterpreting” the relevant news, and that the current pullback actually offers an opportunity to get in. Joe Tigay, portfolio manager at Equity Armor Investments, said that if AI really brings new security threats, then demand for leading cybersecurity companies would likely rise even further.

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