OpenAI said it is providing access to its latest AI models, including GPT-5.5-Cyber, to Deutsche Telekom, BBVA, and several other European companies to strengthen their resilience against system vulnerabilities.
The initiative also includes Spain’s Telefónica, the UK’s Sophos, and German financial services firm Scalable Capital, according to OpenAI.
Its “Trusted Access for Cyber” programme allows verified organisations in critical sectors such as financial services, telecoms, energy, and public services to use its models with specific safeguards designed for defensive applications.
Emmanuel Marill, OpenAI’s Managing Director for EMEA, said it is essential to balance access, usefulness, and safety as AI systems become increasingly advanced.
“We need to block dangerous activity, while making sure trusted defenders have tools that are genuinely useful in protecting systems, finding vulnerabilities and responding to threats quickly,” he said on Tuesday.
The release of Mythos by OpenAI’s rival Anthropic last month significantly upped the risks posed to banks and other companies from new frontier AI models.
Their capabilities to code at a high level have given them an unprecedented ability to identify cybersecurity risks and devise ways to exploit them, raising fears they could be used to destabilise banks and other companies.
The European Commission said on Monday that OpenAI has provided open access to its cybersecurity features, while a Commission spokesperson noted that Anthropic has been less forthcoming in comparison.
