Why Shadow AI Is A Bigger Threat Than Claude Mythos

InnovationEnterprise TechWhy Shadow AI Is A Bigger Threat Than Claude MythosByTim Keary,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Tim Keary is a reporter covering enterprise AI adoption.Follow AuthorMay 11, 2026, 11:09am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Shadow AI gettyAnthropic’s powerful frontier AI model Claude Mythos, has raised serious concerns about the risks presented by AI-driven vulnerability discovery and exploitation. However, there’s reason to suggest that shadow AI might pose a bigger threat to enterprises in the short term. While advancements in frontier models like Mythos threaten to accelerate vulnerability discovery, shadow AI leaves hidden entry points in enterprise environments that threat actors can exploit.According to a survey conducted by WalkMe in 2025, 78% of employees admit to using AI tools that were not approved by their employer. At the same time, the number of ungoverned tools has skyrocketed, with Reco finding that organizations average 269 shadow AI tools per 1,000 employees.Each of these tools can leak information to unauthorized third parties. Rapid AI adoption has come at the cost of security and defenders now need to adapt to a fast-moving threat landscape in which AI tools can be targeted with prompt injection attacks and other exploits.Getting To Grips With Shadow AI Poor governance has been a problem since the start of the AI race. Shortly after the release of ChatGPT, Samsung had a security incident in which an engineer pasted source code into ChatGPT. The incident resulted in a company-wide ban on employees using the chatbot.Now, as agentic AI picks up steam and machine identities continue to multiply across the enterprise, it’s becoming harder to mitigate risk. For instance, IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach report found that 63% of organizations lacked AI governance policies to manage AI or prevent...