Mumbai

Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday urged all entities in the financial sector to remain “exceptionally vigilant” on cybersecurity, warning that rapidly evolving artificial intelligence tools are making cyberattacks faster, smarter and harder to detect.

Speaking at the 28th foundation day event of Securities and Exchange Board of India in Mumbai, Sitharaman said AI-powered tools can identify system vulnerabilities automatically and interfere with source code, creating new risks for regulators and financial institutions.

Without naming Mythos directly, she said all regulated entities—not just SEBI—must strengthen their defences as cyber threats evolve at high speed.

Her remarks come amid global concern over the capabilities of Mythos, a new platform linked to Anthropic. Reports of its advanced features have prompted regulators and policymakers worldwide to review safeguards.

The Indian government had earlier convened a meeting of senior bankers in New Delhi attended by Sitharaman and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, where a dedicated panel under C S Setty was announced to study the issue.

Sitharaman cautioned that even a single successful cyberattack on a major stock exchange, depository or large brokerage could disrupt markets nationwide, destroy wealth and damage investor confidence.

She also urged SEBI to deepen regular consultations with international regulators, saying better global understanding of India’s regulatory systems would boost confidence among overseas investors and enhance India’s influence in global rulemaking.

On customer verification norms, the finance minister advocated a common Know Your Customer (KYC) framework across financial services so citizens do not have to repeat the same verification process for multiple products and platforms.

Calling for balanced regulation, Sitharaman said policymaking should rely on consultation and principle-based rules rather than overly rigid rulebooks. Regulations, she said, should be forward-looking and sophisticated rather than merely reactive.

She praised SEBI’s action against unregistered “fininfluencers,” saying authorities should not allow monetisation of uninformed retail investor trust for private gain. She also warned about fake investment apps and deepfake videos impersonating public figures.

The minister asked SEBI to significantly expand public awareness campaigns in regional languages across digital platforms and create rapid-response systems to remove fraudulent content.

She further pushed for stronger municipal bond markets to fund urban infrastructure and wider access to corporate bond markets through improved credit enhancement systems.

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“India needs better markets, not just bigger markets,” she said, adding that growth without governance would be unsustainable.