Anthropic Accuses Chinese Firms of Copying Claude AI with 16 Million Queries, Raising IP Concerns – Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Anthropic has accused Chinese AI firms of using 16 million queries to replicate its Claude AI model, raising serious concerns about intellectual property protection within the AI sector. The alleged copying involved reverse engineering through prompt engineering, exposing vulnerabilities in AI models to such sophisticated tactics.

Who should care: CISOs, SOC leads, threat intelligence analysts, fraud & risk leaders, identity & access management teams, and security operations teams.

What happened?

Anthropic, a leading AI company, has publicly accused certain Chinese AI firms of employing an estimated 16 million queries to reverse engineer and replicate its Claude model. This process, known as prompt engineering, entails systematically interacting with an AI model to infer its underlying architecture, behavior, and proprietary algorithms. Such extensive querying requires not only technical expertise but also significant resources, underscoring the lengths to which competitors might go to duplicate advanced AI capabilities. This incident highlights a critical vulnerability: even highly sophisticated AI models can be exposed to intellectual property theft through query-based analysis. The ramifications are far-reaching, as this could encourage similar replication attempts, potentially disrupting competitive balance within the AI industry. The alleged activity occurred amid intensifying global competition in AI development, with China emerging as a major player aggressively advancing its AI capabilities. Beyond the immediate technical concerns, this case raises pressing ethical and legal questions about how proprietary AI models are protected and what frameworks are needed to prevent unauthorized replication in an increasingly contested technological landscape.

Why now?

This incident emerges at a pivotal moment when AI technology is advancing rapidly and becoming strategically vital worldwide. Over the last 18 months, AI development has accelerated dramatically, fueled by substantial investments and breakthroughs across both Western and Eastern markets. As AI models become central to technological leadership and economic power, protecting intellectual property has become more urgent than ever. The ability to reverse engineer AI through sophisticated querying techniques reflects the growing challenges the industry faces in securing its innovations. This event underscores the urgent need to address these vulnerabilities as the AI ecosystem evolves and competition intensifies.

So what?

The implications of this incident are significant for organizations relying on AI technologies. It exposes gaps in current intellectual property protections and calls for a strategic reassessment of security measures surrounding AI models. Companies must consider tightening access controls and enhancing monitoring to detect and prevent unauthorized querying that could lead to model replication. Operationally, this means revisiting how AI models are deployed and accessed, potentially implementing stricter protocols to safeguard proprietary information. Failure to act could result in increased risks of intellectual property theft, undermining competitive advantage and innovation incentives.

What this means for you:

• For CISOs: Strengthen monitoring and implement granular access controls to identify and block unauthorized interactions with AI models.
• For threat intelligence analysts: Track and analyze emerging techniques in AI model replication to inform proactive defense strategies.
• For security operations teams: Establish detection and response protocols focused on prompt engineering and reverse engineering activities targeting AI systems.

Quick Hits

• Impact / Risk: The incident exposes a critical risk to AI intellectual property, threatening competitive dynamics within the industry.
• Operational Implication: Organizations must enhance cybersecurity measures to protect AI models from unauthorized replication attempts.
• Action This Week: Review AI model access policies, conduct security audits of AI systems, and brief leadership on emerging IP risks.