Punjab National Bank (PNB), India's third-largest state-run bank by market capitalization, is ramping up its cybersecurity investments in response to increasing digital threats, particularly from advanced artificial intelligence models like Anthropic's Mythos. The bank has earmarked about 20% of its technology budget for cybersecurity, amounting to approximately ₹7 billion to ₹8 billion ($73.5 million - $84 million) for the current financial year, which represents a more than 50% increase from the previous year. PNB's executive director, D Surendran, emphasized the importance of this expenditure and indicated that spending may increase further if necessary. This decision aligns with heightened regulatory scrutiny on AI-related cybersecurity risks, as India's finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, recently met with top bank executives to assess their preparedness. Additionally, PNB is fast-tracking the procurement of security tools and has implemented a 24/7 audit process to quickly identify vulnerabilities. On a positive note, PNB reported a 14% increase in net profit to ₹52.25 billion ($549 million), driven by healthy loan growth of 12.7% year-on-year and a 9.2% rise in deposits.