Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorcas said Friday that his ministry will conduct a 90-day sprint to study and counter threats from Beijing and look at ways the ministry can integrate artificial intelligence into its work. announced the formation of a task force for
Mayorkas addressed the threat posed by China in a speech Friday accompanying the release of the Third Homeland Security Review, a legally mandated strategic document to assess how threats to the United States have changed. A Homeland Security study explores how to protect America’s critical infrastructure from Chinese cyberattacks.
“Just as threats of the past have changed in complexity and size in shape, so have new threats, which are perhaps not as serious as in cyberspace,” Mayorkas said. “Today, malicious cyber actors can disrupt gasoline supplies across the country, prevent hospitals from providing emergency care, and disrupt the school system in some parts of the country. ”
Friday’s announcement is the latest in a series of Washington initiatives to counter Chinese influence, the latest of which is Friday’s workshop, where the United States will compete with China in deploying 6G telecoms infrastructure. It is intended to prevent falling behind.
DHS’ 90-day study of the threat posed by China will focus on six areas: Disrupting the fentanyl supply chain. Screen travelers who abuse immigration systems to gather information, steal intellectual property, or harass dissidents. Mitigate China’s influence on supply chains, including safe navigation and resource development in the Arctic and Indo-Pacific. International intelligence sharing on China’s counterintelligence threat.
IC’s annual threat assessment recently concluded that China “is perhaps the most pervasive, most active, and persistent cyber espionage threat to U.S. government and private sector networks today.” The threats are multifaceted in nature, with U.S. prosecutors earlier this week indicting 44 people for working for the Chinese government to suppress dissidents within the U.S. Chinese diaspora. .
In addition, DHS has launched artificial intelligence projects aimed at using AI to “advance critical homeland security missions,” such as integrating AI into supply chain monitoring and using AI to sort cargo. Creating an intelligence task force. The task force will explore how to better detect fentanyl shipments, apply AI to digital forensics tools to assist authorities in child sexual exploitation and abuse, and help AI improve critical infrastructure. Evaluate the impact on
Given the widespread adoption of AI applications and rapid advances in machine learning in recent years, Mayorkas said the advances mark “the dawn of a new era.”
