China Moves To Curb OpenClaw AI Use At Banks, State Agencies (bloomberg.com) 18
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Chinese authorities moved to restrict state-run enterprises and government agencies from running OpenClaw AI apps on office computers, acting swiftly to defuse potential security risks after companies and consumers across China began experimenting with the agentic AI phenomenon. Government agencies and state-owned enterprises, including the largest banks, have received notices in recent days warning them against installing OpenClaw software on office devices for security reasons [...]. Several of them were instructed to notify superiors if they had already installed related apps for security checks and possible removal, some of the people said.
Certain employees, including those at state-run banks and some government agencies, were banned from installing OpenClaw on office computers and also personal phones using the company's network, some of the people said. One person said the ban was also extended to the families of military personnel. Other notices stopped short of calling for an outright ban on OpenClaw software, saying only that prior approval is needed before use, the people said. The warning underscores Beijing's growing concern about OpenClaw, an agentic AI platform that requires unusually broad access to private data and can communicate externally, potentially exposing computers to external attack. [...]
Despite the potential security risks, companies from Tencent to JD.com Inc. have been rolling out OpenClaw apps to try and capitalize on the groundswell of enthusiasm, while several local government agencies have declared millions of yuan in subsidies for companies that develop atop the platform. [...] Tech giants like Tencent and Alibaba, along with AI upstarts ranging from Moonshot to MiniMax, have rolled out their own tweaks of the software touting simple, one-click adoption. A slew of government agencies, in cities from Shenzhen to Wuxi, have issued notices offering multimillion-yuan subsidies to startups leveraging OpenClaw to make advances. The frenzy has helped drive up shares of AI model developer MiniMax nearly 640% since its listing just two months ago. It's now worth about $49 billion, surpassing Baidu -- once viewed as the frontrunner in Chinese AI development -- in market value. The company launched MaxClaw, an agent built on OpenClaw, in late February.
Certain employees, including those at state-run banks and some government agencies, were banned from installing OpenClaw on office computers and also personal phones using the company's network, some of the people said. One person said the ban was also extended to the families of military personnel. Other notices stopped short of calling for an outright ban on OpenClaw software, saying only that prior approval is needed before use, the people said. The warning underscores Beijing's growing concern about OpenClaw, an agentic AI platform that requires unusually broad access to private data and can communicate externally, potentially exposing computers to external attack. [...]
Despite the potential security risks, companies from Tencent to JD.com Inc. have been rolling out OpenClaw apps to try and capitalize on the groundswell of enthusiasm, while several local government agencies have declared millions of yuan in subsidies for companies that develop atop the platform. [...] Tech giants like Tencent and Alibaba, along with AI upstarts ranging from Moonshot to MiniMax, have rolled out their own tweaks of the software touting simple, one-click adoption. A slew of government agencies, in cities from Shenzhen to Wuxi, have issued notices offering multimillion-yuan subsidies to startups leveraging OpenClaw to make advances. The frenzy has helped drive up shares of AI model developer MiniMax nearly 640% since its listing just two months ago. It's now worth about $49 billion, surpassing Baidu -- once viewed as the frontrunner in Chinese AI development -- in market value. The company launched MaxClaw, an agent built on OpenClaw, in late February.
Geez...I thought they were smarter...? (Score:4, Insightful)
I can't fathom users at banks and government facilities installing this, much less even having their computers not locked down by default to prevent this?!?!
I'm about to start experimenting with it...have a Mac Mini 24GB on the way....it will be dedicated to OC...and run small model, etc....using docker, etc...trying to isolate it while learning and experimenting.
But wow....banks and govt offices in China throwing this on Willy nilly?
Re: Geez...I thought they were smarter...? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Geez...I thought they were smarter...? (Score:2)
My experience is that bank employees have no clue about security. And neither do banks. Here are some examples.
My bank used to have a 2FA mobile app for logging into their web interface ("netbanking") and for signing transactions. A few years ago they released a new mobile app that does both the netbanking and the 2FA. These days you can't use the old app anymore, you have to use the new unified app. They will however allow you to restrict it to only work as 2FA, but that's opt-in. So it's just there for pe
Re: (Score:2)
Mindless trust in technology and FOMO are strong with many people. They do not even look for any caveats or risks and when they accidentally find them, they tend to ignore them. That is one reason professional tech decisions are typically limited to engineers and come with qualification and liability. In the IT space, that is unfortunately not yet the case. As to "locked down", that is really hard to do with Windows (or has pretty expensive side-effects) and I guess that is the problem here.
DO NOT LET ROKO'S BASILISK OUT FRONT DOOR! (Score:5, Funny)
Is it the Year of the Monkey on Crack with a Shotgun already?
Re: (Score:2)
It is always that year, just the shotguns are different.
But it isn't all bad. I don't know what this "OpenClaw" is, but I've found some Tencent models quite useful, e.g. their picture to 3D ones. Most of the time you can snap a few photos and just 3d-print the model they produce.
Re: (Score:2)
I see, it is yet another "agentic framework". Well, all of them are pretty much devoid of any security, so this is hardly an exception.
Re: (Score:2)
I guess any software is one automatic update away from becoming hostile.
Imagine the fun scenarios in the event of war...
Re: (Score:2)
I guess any software is one automatic update away from becoming hostile.
Imagine the fun scenarios in the event of war...
Yes. One reason why the EU has noticed being critically dependent on US tech giants may not be the smartest thing...
Stop pegging the cpu with that retool ad. (Score:2)
A better idea (Score:2)
Instead of banning use on office computers, set up an isolated test lab for OpenClaw experimentation
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Perhaps this a nice use case for Elon Musk's "Datacenters in spaaaaace"!
Re: (Score:2)
[hashtag] Solar Yeet
Re: (Score:2)
These people do not want to experiment. They want to automate parts of their jobs away.