The NSA, ‘Mythos’ and the quiet emergence of AI cyber doctrine

Advanced AI models like Claude Mythos are becoming autonomous cyber-attack tools that can identify vulnerabilities, chain multiple exploits together, and conduct multi-stage attacks with minimal human input, fundamentally changing how cyber offense and defense operate. Major tech companies have formed a defensive coalition (Project Glasswing) to respond to this emerging threat, signaling that AI-powered cyber operations have moved beyond experimentation into real operational capability. This represents a shift in cyber doctrine where speed, scale, and autonomy (the ability of AI to act without human direction) have become the defining factors in cyber conflict.