MeitY body tells ministries to hold off on deploying OpenAI, Anthropic cybersecurity models - ThePrint

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued an advisory to government ministries, urging them to refrain from deploying cybersecurity models developed by OpenAI and Anthropic. The directive, reported by ThePrint, comes without explicit justification but suggests concerns over data privacy, compliance, or security risks associated with these third-party models. Ministries have been instructed to pause any integration or adoption until further notice, pending a formal review or policy clarification.

The move reflects broader caution within India's digital governance framework, particularly around foreign-developed AI tools in sensitive sectors like cybersecurity. While OpenAI and Anthropic are global leaders in AI, their models may not yet align with India's evolving regulatory expectations for data sovereignty and security standards. The advisory does not specify a timeline for resolution but indicates a cautious approach to adopting external AI solutions in critical infrastructure.

This development follows India's increasing scrutiny of AI technologies, including recent discussions on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and guidelines for AI deployment in government systems. The pause could impact ongoing projects or pilot programs within ministries that were considering these models for threat detection, incident response, or other cybersecurity functions.