The telecommunications industry is in turmoil following reports that the U.S. government has imposed export controls on Anthropic's next-generation model, Mitos 5, due to suspected ties to Chinese entities. This follows previous security concerns raised during the Trump administration regarding LG Uplus and now casts suspicion on SK Telecom.
On June 16, multiple foreign media outlets, including The Washington Post, cited White House officials stating that foreign access restrictions to Mitos 5 and Fable 5 were prompted by a group suspected of connections to China gaining access to the models.
Reports indicated that a South Korean telecommunications company was included in a pre-access list, naturally directing scrutiny toward SK Telecom, the only one of the three major South Korean telecom firms named.
Project Glasswing is a cybersecurity consortium established by Anthropic to prevent misuse of Mitos through hacking. The initiative aims to provide models to verified institutions and companies for preemptive vulnerability assessments. Launched in April, it expanded to include approximately 150 institutions across 15 countries by June 2. In South Korea, participants mentioned include Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, SK Telecom, and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), with SK Telecom being the sole telecommunications representative.
Just ten days after the expansion of participation, on June 12, the U.S. government directed Anthropic to block access to Mitos 5 and Fable 5 for all foreign nationals, citing national security concerns. Anthropic promptly halted services. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo reportedly pointed out in a letter to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei that the two models could potentially be utilized by military and intelligence agencies in countries of concern, such as China and Russia. Some foreign media have suggested that the initial access breach by a group linked to China triggered the subsequent restrictions.
However, interpretations of the reasons behind the restrictions vary. The Wall Street Journal reported that Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services, informed high-ranking officials, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Gottlieb, that Amazon researchers had extracted information related to cyberattacks from Fable 5, presenting a different rationale than the alleged Chinese connections. Dean Bol, who managed AI policy during the Trump administration, criticized the inconsistency of allowing some advanced semiconductor exports to China while blocking model access to allied nations like the UK.
SK Telecom maintains that the allegations of ties to China are unfounded. The company publicly disclosed its participation in Project Glasswing and early access to Mitos on June 4. Having strategically invested $100 million in Anthropic in August 2023, SK Telecom finds the suspicion of connections to China particularly troubling.
An SK Telecom representative stated, "The anonymous tip may refer to SK Telecom, but we cannot confirm any facts at this time. We have no relations with China, and even the White House's stance raises doubts."
This is not the first time a South Korean telecommunications company has faced scrutiny from the U.S. government over alleged ties to China. During the Trump administration, LG Uplus was flagged for security concerns due to its use of Huawei's 5G and LTE equipment. Following informal concerns raised by a senior U.S. State Department official, the U.S. Congress discussed legislation to review military cooperation with countries using Chinese telecommunications equipment. This incident is seen as another example of South Korean companies being caught in the crossfire of U.S.-China power struggles.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT stated that it is currently verifying the facts surrounding this matter.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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