National-Security

The US government is not a monolith — and nowhere is that clearer right now than in its relationship with Anthropic. On one side: the Pentagon, which formally designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk in early 2026 and instructed defense contractors to drop Claude from their workflows. On the other: the National Security Agency, which is quietly deploying Anthropic’s most capable model — Claude Mythos Preview — for its own cybersecurity operations. ...

A court dispute between Anthropic and the U.S. Department of Defense has surfaced a question that will define AI governance for years: can an AI company manipulate its models mid-deployment without users knowing? The DoD apparently thinks Anthropic can. Anthropic says it absolutely cannot — and is willing to put that in writing. The Allegation According to court filings reported by WIRED, the Department of Defense has alleged that Anthropic retains the ability to manipulate or sabotage AI tools deployed in military operations during wartime. The DoD’s concern appears to center on whether Anthropic could remotely alter Claude’s behavior — whether through model updates, server-side changes, or other mechanisms — in ways that could affect active operational use. ...

The legal battle between Anthropic and the U.S. government has taken a sharp turn. In a formal court filing this week, the Department of Justice argued that Anthropic’s refusal to accept military contract terms is not protected by the First Amendment — and doubled down on the Pentagon’s position that the company poses an “unacceptable” and “substantial” national security risk. What’s Actually Happening Anthropic, the maker of the Claude AI model, sued the U.S. government earlier this year after the Department of Defense labeled the company a “supply chain risk,” effectively barring it from federal contracts. Anthropic argued that the government’s move was unlawful retaliation tied to its AI safety policies. ...

This is an update post. We covered the initial Pentagon concerns on February 28 and the defense contractor fallout on March 4. Here’s what’s genuinely new. The Pentagon sent Anthropic formal written notification on Thursday, March 5, designating the company a supply-chain risk to national security. This is a legal and procurement designation — not just informal concern or policy discussion. It has real consequences for government contractors who use Claude-based tools. ...