Anthropic Funds New Security Developer Role at Python Software Foundation Following Sharp Rise in Vulnerabilities
Anthropic has funded a dedicated security developer position at the Python Software Foundation after data revealed a substantial increase in vulnerabilities affecting the Python ecosystem in 2026.
Security researcher Seth Larson published a graph tracking vulnerability reports over multiple years, highlighting a sharp upward trend that prompted the new funding. The additional role will strengthen the foundation’s capacity to manage growing security workloads across Python projects and the PyPI repository.
Brett Smith joins the team as Security Developer. He will work alongside Seth Larson (Security Developer-in-Residence) and Mike Fiedler (PyPI security engineer). Smith brings extensive experience in software development and Linux systems administration, previously contributing to organizations such as the W3C and Software Freedom Conservancy, as well as open-source projects including Request Tracker and Arvados.
During PyCon US 2026, Larson and Fiedler stated that the Python Security Response Team is now processing three to four times more vulnerability reports for Python and pip than in the prior year. The volume of malicious packages detected and removed from PyPI has risen by 60 percent over the same period.
The expanded team plans to prioritize scaling the automatic quarantine system in PyPI and optimizing internal processes to handle the increased flow of security reports efficiently.
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