The National Security Agency (NSA) is starting a dedicated ai security center. This move comes after the government has begun to rely increasingly on ai, integrating multiple algorithms into defense and intelligence systems. The security center will work to protect these systems against theft and sabotage, as well as safeguard the country from external ai-based threats.
The NSA’s recent move toward ai security was announced Thursday by outgoing Director General Paul Nakasone. He says the division will operate under the umbrella of the pre-existing Cybersecurity Collaboration Center. This entity works with private industry and international partners to protect the US from cyber attacks coming from China, Russia and other countries with active malware and hacking campaigns.
For example, the agency suggesting that Chinese hackers have been targeting government, industrial and telecom equipment through hacked router firmware. There is also the specter of election interference, although Nakasone says he has yet to see any evidence that Russia or China are trying to influence the 2024 US presidential election. Still, this and that was before the rapid proliferation of ai algorithms. As the
As artificial intelligence threatens to augment the capabilities of these bad actors, the US government will turn to this new security division to keep up. The NSA decided to establish the unit after conducting a study that suggested that poorly secured ai models pose a significant challenge to national security. This has only been compounded by the rise of generative ai technologies which, according to the NSA, can be used for both good and bad purposes.
Nakasone says the organization will become “NSA’s focal point for leveraging foreign intelligence expertise, contributing to the development of best practice guidelines, principles, assessment, methodology, and risk frameworks” for both ai security and for the goal of safe development and adoption of artificial intelligence. within “our national security systems and our defense industrial base.” To do this, the group will work hand in hand with industry leaders, scientific laboratories, academic institutions, international partners and, of course, the Department of Defense.
Nakasone is leaving the NSA and US Cyber Command and will be succeeded by his current deputy, Air Force Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh. Nakasone has held his position since 2018 and, from all indications,
