WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that cyberattacks powered by advanced artificial intelligence tools could pose “inevitable” risks to global financial stability.
In a new report, the IMF said extreme cyber incidents could lead to funding strains, raise solvency concerns and disrupt broader markets due to the highly interconnected nature of the global financial system.
“IMF analysis suggests that extreme cyber-incident losses could trigger funding strains, raise solvency concerns, and disrupt broader markets,” the lender said.
The report warned that advanced AI systems could “dramatically reduce” the time and cost required to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in critical systems.
New AI tools that threaten supercharged cyberattacks are a
financial stability risk, not just technical or operational issues. See our blog on resilience and safeguarding global markets. https://t.co/JRsoKWOEGI pic.twitter.com/DrWUjTNs63— IMF (@IMFNews) May 7, 2026
AI-driven cyber risks raising alarm
The IMF highlighted growing concern over so-called “zero-day” vulnerabilities, which are previously unknown security flaws that can be exploited by hackers.
It cited emerging AI tools capable of identifying such weaknesses at scale, increasing the risk to financial infrastructure and digital systems.
The warning comes amid rising global attention on the security risks posed by artificial intelligence in sensitive sectors.
AI company Anthropic has reportedly cautioned that its unreleased model “Mythos” is highly capable of detecting vulnerabilities in operating systems and web browsers.
According to the IMF, the episode illustrates how rapidly evolving AI systems could destabilise financial markets if not properly regulated.
“Mythos could find and exploit vulnerabilities in every major operating system and web browser—even when used by non-experts,” IMF experts wrote, referring to analysis by Tobias Adrian, Tamas Gaidosch and Rangachary Ravikumar.
Global coordination
The IMF said the risks were systemic and could spread across sectors due to reliance on a small number of cloud and technology providers.
“The reliance on a small number of platforms and cloud providers is likely to increase the impact of any single exploited weakness,” the report said.
It warned that emerging and developing economies could be disproportionately affected due to weaker cybersecurity infrastructure and limited resources.
“Cyber risk does not respect borders,” the IMF noted, adding that inconsistent oversight across countries could weaken global financial stability.
The Fund called for “resilience, supervision, and international coordination” to mitigate risks and strengthen safeguards.
“Defenses will inevitably be breached, so resilience must also be a priority, specifically to limit how far incidents spread and ensure rapid recovery,” it said.
