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Chinese AI Firms Accused of Stealing US Tech, Raising Security Alarms

Anthropic has accused three leading Chinese AI firms—DeepSeek, Minimax, and Moonshot AI—of illegally extracting capabilities from its Claude model through a massive operation involving tens of thousands of fake accounts. The US company warns this poses significant national security risks, as the copied models may lack critical safety features and could be used for cyberattacks, disinformation, or even biological weapons development. This incident highlights ongoing tensions in the US-China tech rivalry and raises questions about the effectiveness of current export controls on advanced semiconductors. Similar allegations have previously been made by OpenAI against Chinese AI developers, pointing to a pattern of alleged intellectual property appropriation.

Key Points: Chinese AI Firms Illegally Extract US Tech: Anthropic Report

  • Illegal AI capability extraction
  • 24,000 fraudulent accounts used
  • Raises US national security risks
  • Models may lack safety guardrails
  • Questions effectiveness of export controls
2 min read

Chinese AI firms threaten national security through illegal extraction from US companies: Anthropic

Anthropic accuses Chinese AI unicorns of illegally distilling its Claude model, raising major US national security concerns about cyberattacks and bioweapons.

"The window to act is narrow. - Anthropic report"

New Delhi, March 25

United States-based artificial intelligence firm Anthropic accused three Chinese unicorns- DeepSeek, Minimax and Moonshot AI - of having illegally extracted capabilities from its Claude model to advance their own systems, a new report has said.

The report from CNN Business said that the US firm alleged that the theft through a process known as distillation raised national security concerns.

The modus-operandi of the alleged theft involved creation of around 24,000 fraudulent accounts to train Chinese models using over 16 million exchanges with Claude.

The company warned that models produced this way may lack the safety guardrails implemented by companies such as itself and thus could be used for cyberattacks, and biological weapons.

These models could lead to "authoritarian governments to deploy frontier AI for offensive cyber operations, disinformation campaigns, and mass surveillance," it said, warning that the "The window to act is narrow."

CNN has reached out to DeepSeek, MiniMax and Moonshot AI for comment, the report said.

DeepSeek's sudden rise to prominence in China, being dubbed as "AI tigers" had led to a sense of US export controls having failed.

The three unicorns currently rank among the top 15 models on the prominent Artificial Analysis leaderboard, the report added.

However, Anthropic said that the distillation attempts proved the effectiveness of export controls and that cutting-edge model development cannot be sustained without access to advanced chips.

Similar claims have earlier been made by OpenAI, which accused DeepSeek of "free riding on the capabilities developed by OpenAI and other US frontier labs."

Anthropic PBC had recently been formally designated a "Supply Chain Risk (SCR)" by the US government and the firm's CEO also apologised for criticising President Donald Trump.

The company clarified that the designation would apply only to use of Anthropic's Claude models within Department of War contracts and not to "all use of Claude by customers who have such contracts".

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Priya S
While the alleged theft is wrong, the US also needs to look at its own restrictive export policies. They create an environment where others feel forced to find alternative paths. Global cooperation on AI safety is the only real solution, not just pointing fingers.
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Arjun K
24,000 fraudulent accounts and 16 million exchanges? That's not a small hack, it's a full-scale industrial espionage operation. The potential for misuse in cyberattacks is terrifying. India should accelerate its own sovereign AI initiatives like the IndiaAI mission.
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Sarah B
The part about lacking safety guardrails is the most concerning. AI without proper ethics can be a weapon. This isn't just a corporate rivalry story; it's about preventing real-world harm. Hope Indian regulators are taking notes for our own AI policy framework.
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Vikram M
DeepSeek being called "AI tigers" shows how fast they've grown. But if it's built on stolen tech, that's hollow growth. True innovation can't be copied. This is a lesson for our Indian startups too – build original, build strong. Jai Hind!
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Karthik V
The US-China tech war continues. As an Indian, I see this as an opportunity. While giants fight, we must focus on developing our own talent and infrastructure. Let's not get caught in their crossfire but build our own path. #AatmanirbharBharat

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