Cyber training will enable government to successfully harness AI while staying secure

The administration’s artificial intelligence policies, reinforced with the president’s June 2 executive order “Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security,” are breaking down the barriers for AI. This is a good thing for innovation and economic growth. From removing barriers to innovation to developing a national policy framework for AI, a series of recent executive orders reduce regulations, fostering a powerful free market spirit around AI, matching what has driven so many technology revolutions over the last 150 years.

However, this technological shift also creates new national security considerations that require coordinated action. Adversaries’ utilization of AI for cyber attacks has increased, as seen with APT31 using Gemini to automate cyberattack reconnaissance and analyze system vulnerabilities against United States targets. When accelerating AI innovation, there’s a great need for the U.S. to lead on AI cybersecurity across sectors, especially when it comes to the federal government, law enforcement, the intelligence community, critical infrastructure operators and the U.S. military.

While the best and most secure technology must be deployed to fill these security gaps, it will also be incumbent on federal agencies to train their cyber workforces to understand the new ways AI is making cyber defense more challenging than ever before, and hone the skills needed to match adversaries and mitigate evolving threats.

The critical need for a well-trained cyber workforce

Federal networks are primary targets for nation-state actors, organized cybercrime groups, hacktivists and insider threats. These adversaries use advanced techniques such as advanced persistent threats, supply-chain attacks, zero-day exploitation, AI-assisted phishing and social engineering and infrastructure infiltration targeting critical services.

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As adversaries continually evolve…

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