The U.S. government wants to know how major U.S. technology companies are leveraging AI to protect their computer networks and how they are preparing for potential AI-driven cybersecurity crises.
Officials from the White House’s Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) have been approaching big tech companies in recent weeks with questions about AI, information sharing, vulnerability patching and how the federal government can help, according to emails and a list of questions shared with Cybersecurity Dive.
“The White House continues to actively engage across government and industry to address several cybersecurity priorities,” Jennifer Bellaire, assistant to the National Cyber Director for Foreign Affairs, said in an April 23 email. “This includes working with the Frontier AI Institute to discuss collaborative opportunities and shared approaches and protocols to address the challenges associated with scaling this technology. We are grateful for our collaboration to date and believe your organization has the capacity and expertise to ensure the protection of America and Americans.”
ONCD asked companies to respond to 11 questions on a variety of cybersecurity topics by May 1st.
Some questions may be as simple as, “Are you currently using Al detection and response tools or services?” “How does the Al model or platform integrate into the software stack?” But most questions are more complex, such as how quickly companies can identify and remediate known vulnerabilities and what barriers they face to improving their cyber posture.
Still other questions involve sensitive internal details that companies are unlikely to share. One of the questions asks for a list of networks, hardware, and software that are critical to a company’s business continuity and an explanation of how the company separates these systems from traditional business networks. Another question asks companies to explain what happens if their most critical systems are compromised.
The White House also asked companies what information-sharing mechanisms they use and whether there are any gaps in their processes. Whether the company has recommendations for improving collaboration with state and local governments. The paper then cites, as an example, “a public-private consortium structure that provides operational value” as the “most useful role the federal government can play here.”
The email did not include a list of recipients, so it is unclear which companies received it. ONCD did not respond to multiple requests for comment on its support efforts. The White House appears to have sent different questions to different parties. politiko First reported on Outreachyou cited another language within your question.
Outreach is as follows April 28th meeting White House cybersecurity officials and tech industry representatives exchanged views on the risks and opportunities posed by powerful new AI models.
