UK's National Health Service to close-source 100+ repos over security concerns (www.theregister.com)

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has announced a temporary shift to close-source hundreds of its GitHub repositories due to rising security concerns related to advanced AI models, notably Anthropic's Mythos. By May 11, technology leaders must transition these public repositories to private status, driven by fears that open access could lead to unintended exposure of sensitive source code and architectural insights that advanced AI could exploit. This policy change represents a significant pivot from the NHS's prior commitment to open-source collaboration and transparency, which has previously allowed the reuse and improvement of public-funded code. While NHS officials describe this as a precautionary measure to strengthen cybersecurity, skepticism lingers regarding the actual risks posed by AI models like Mythos, which are touted as advanced bug-finding tools. Critics, including former NHSX technology head Terence Eden, argue that this move may not substantively protect against vulnerabilities, as much of the code has likely been ingested by AI during training or could still be accessed through various channels. The organization has not specified when it might revert to its open-source stance, prompting discussions in the AI/ML community about the balance between innovation, security, and the ethos of public-code access.