After Anthropic and OpenAI disclosed that AI models under testing broke into real organizations’ systems, the Santa Clarita IT provider now includes core security protections in its break-fix, fully managed and co-managed programs.
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Managed IT Services Santa Clarita, a managed IT services provider serving businesses across the Santa Clarita Valley, has made cybersecurity a standard part of every IT program it offers. The company, also known as MITSSC, said the decision follows two disclosures this summer in which AI models being tested by leading AI labs reached the open internet and gained access to the systems of real companies.
Until now, clients on lighter support arrangements could treat security as an optional add-on. Under the new approach, every engagement begins with a security assessment, and a baseline set of protections is included whether a business calls MITSSC for occasional break-fix help, relies on it for fully managed IT, or uses it to support an internal IT team.
Two AI Incidents That Reached Real Systems
On July 16, Hugging Face, a widely used platform for AI models and datasets, published an incident disclosure reporting that an intrusion into part of its production infrastructure had been driven end to end by an autonomous AI agent. The agent used a malicious dataset to run code on a processing server, collected cloud credentials and moved into several internal clusters over a weekend, leaving more than 17,000 recorded events behind. On July 21, OpenAI confirmed the activity came from its own models, including GPT-5.6 Sol and a more capable pre-release model, which had been running an internal cybersecurity evaluation and exploited a previously unknown software flaw to reach the internet. OpenAI called it an unprecedented cyber incident.
OpenAI’s disclosure led Anthropic to review 141,006 of its own evaluation runs. On July 30, the company published an account of three incidents in which Claude models reached the internet from a third-party test environment and accessed the real systems of three organizations. In one, Claude Mythos 5 published a malicious Python package to PyPI, the public registry for Python software. The package was available for roughly an hour and ran on 15 real systems, including a security company’s malware scanner, before PyPI’s automated defenses removed it.
Basic Gaps With Real Consequences
Anthropic reported that its models got in using basic techniques, such as weak passwords and systems left reachable without any login, rather than complex exploits. It also said the two affected organizations it was able to reach had not detected the activity on their own.
“None of this required anything exotic,” said Kris Carter of Managed IT Services Santa Clarita. “A weak password, a system exposed without a login, a software package nobody checked. Those are the same gaps we find on small business networks all the time, and there are now tools that can find them faster than any person could.”
Broader data shows the same pattern. Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found ransomware in 48% of breaches, up from 44% a year earlier, and reported that exploited vulnerabilities overtook stolen credentials as the most common way attackers first got in. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged 1,008,597 complaints in 2025 with $20.877 billion in reported losses, a 26% increase over 2024, and counted more than 22,000 complaints involving artificial intelligence in the first edition of its annual report to include a dedicated section on AI-related crime.
What Every MITSSC Program Now Includes
Each new engagement starts with a review of a client’s devices, user accounts, network access and backups. From there, every program includes multi-factor authentication on critical systems, endpoint detection and response on managed devices, email filtering, regular patching and verified backups.
Fully managed clients also receive around-the-clock monitoring from the company’s security operations center, vulnerability scanning, dark web monitoring and ongoing security awareness training with simulated phishing tests. For co-managed clients with an in-house IT team, MITSSC can take responsibility for the security layer while internal staff handle day-to-day support. The full set of protections is described on the company’s cybersecurity services page.
“We used to leave it up to some clients whether security was worth paying for,” Carter said. “After this summer, that doesn’t feel like a fair decision to put on a business owner. If an automated tool can find an open door in minutes, every client should have the basics covered, no matter how they work with us.”
Security Reviews for Santa Clarita Businesses
MITSSC said it is reviewing existing client environments against the new baseline. Businesses in Valencia, Saugus, Canyon Country, Newhall, Castaic, Stevenson Ranch and nearby communities can find details on the company’s managed IT services in Santa Clarita at manageditservicessantaclarita.com, and those who want an assessment of their current setup can request one here.
Preparing for Faster Attacks
Anthropic, OpenAI and Hugging Face have each said they are tightening controls and strengthening defenses following the incidents. MITSSC said it expects the window between a weakness being discovered and being exploited to keep narrowing as AI tools improve, and it plans to keep adjusting what its programs include as that shift continues.
About Managed IT Services Santa Clarita
Managed IT Services Santa Clarita, also known as MITSSC, is a managed IT services provider based in Santa Clarita, California. The company provides managed IT support, cybersecurity, IT consulting, Microsoft 365 and cloud management, network management, backup and disaster recovery, and onsite support to businesses throughout the Santa Clarita Valley and greater Los Angeles County. It offers break-fix, fully managed and co-managed service options and works with organizations in healthcare, manufacturing, film and entertainment, professional services, construction and real estate, and education and nonprofits.
Contact Information
Managed IT Services Santa Clarita – MITSSC
25350 Magic Mountain Pkwy, Suite 300 #141
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
Phone: 661-531-1091
Website: manageditservicessantaclarita.com
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