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The Center for Internet Security (CIS) and OpenAI have launched an AI Cyber Defense Pilot for state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and critical-infrastructure organizations. The pilot, involving the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), will assess OpenAI technology for vulnerability identification and validation, mitigation prioritization, remediation support, cyber-hygiene improvements, and faster threat-response decisions.
The initiative targets public-sector organizations operating with limited security resources as cyber threats grow more sophisticated and federal support for MS-ISAC changes. CIS cited a 2024 survey finding that 80% of local-government respondents had fewer than five dedicated cybersecurity employees, underscoring the pilot's goal of helping smaller jurisdictions strengthen and manage their own defenses.
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The Center for Internet Security and OpenAI launched an AI Cyber Defense Pilot for state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and critical-infrastructure organizations, including MS-ISAC. Participants will evaluate OpenAI technology for vulnerability identification and validation, mitigation prioritization, remediation, cyber hygiene, and faster threat-response decisions.
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The UK National Cyber Security Centre and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have outlined **Cyber Shield**, a sovereign cyber defense initiative designed to use agentic AI to find and counter weaknesses across government networks and critical national infrastructure. The program is intended to address rising threats from hostile states, organized crime, and AI-enabled attackers that can accelerate reconnaissance and vulnerability discovery to machine speed, while many organizations still face basic security gaps such as unpatched systems, legacy technology, and weak access controls. Cyber Shield is being designed around federated **red-team** and **blue-team** AI agents that can probe for vulnerabilities, share insights, detect threats, and eventually help automate remediation under the control of infrastructure owners. The NCSC said some building blocks, including automated scanning, already exist, but fully autonomous mitigation will require further research, testing, and oversight. Early work will focus on trials with government and critical-sector defenders, with longer-term goals including national-scale scanning, coordinated blocking of known malicious infrastructure, and commercially scalable capabilities developed with industry, academia, AI providers, and critical infrastructure operators.
Aug 11, 2026
US cybersecurity officials said work is underway to stand up new and expanded government–industry mechanisms for sharing threat intelligence, with a particular focus on **AI security** and **operational technology (OT)** risks to critical infrastructure. CISA executive assistant director Nick Andersen said an **AI Information-Sharing and Analysis Center (AI-ISAC)** ordered by the White House is still in an “ongoing policy dialogue” phase, with stakeholders trying to resource the effort and avoid duplicating existing private-sector information-sharing initiatives; he also said there is no launch timeline and described the effort as moving through a “pre-decisional” process. In parallel, Andersen said DHS/CISA is planning a replacement for the disbanded **Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC)**, aiming to correct gaps in the prior structure—particularly the lack of an explicit cybersecurity charter—and to enable more targeted focus groups on issues such as **undersea cables** and OT systems. Separately, the White House Office of the National Cyber Director said it is developing an **AI security policy framework** intended to embed security controls into AI “tech stacks” in coordination with the Office of Science and Technology Policy, citing risks such as **data poisoning** and the potential for **agentic** capabilities to accelerate intrusions. In the private sector, the **Manufacturing ISAC (MFG-ISAC)** reported increased collaboration to address rising threats to manufacturing, including OT-focused initiatives such as tabletop exercises, OT training, and development of incident response playbooks and OT threat guidelines, alongside preparation for updated **CMMC** requirements—reinforcing the broader push toward structured, sector-based information sharing and readiness for critical-infrastructure cyber threats.
Jul 3, 2026
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a statewide cybersecurity initiative requiring every state agency to appoint an **AI cybersecurity officer** and stand up an AI-focused cyber defense program. The effort will be housed in the California Cybersecurity Integration Center and is intended to apply artificial intelligence to vulnerability detection, network hardening, and incident response as officials respond to increasingly sophisticated threats. State leaders said the program is also meant to expand access to advanced cyber capabilities for local governments and critical infrastructure operators. The announcement followed a coordinated cyberattack that disrupted water utility IT systems across multiple U.S. states and was paired with criticism of reduced federal cybersecurity support, including reported cuts to CISA funding and the end of support for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center.
Aug 14, 2026