Federal Government Considers New Requirement For Advanced AI, Cloud Providers

Attention to securing the nation’s infrastructure is deemed urgent by officials.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is considering a new mandate that would require advanced AI and cloud computing providers to report in detail if their offerings are safe and resilient against cybersecurity attacks, Reuters reported.

Proposed by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, the reporting would have to include details on these companies’ development of “‘frontier’ AI models and computing clusters,” according to Reuters.

In addition, the mandate would require these companies to provide reports to the federal government on their cybersecurity measures and red-teaming testing results.

The Commerce Department said that the reporting would be “vital for ensuring these technologies meet stringent standards for safety and reliability, can withstand cyberattacks, and have limited risk of misuse by foreign adversaries or non-state actors,” according to Reuters.

While the U.S. government has yet to pass any wide-sweeping legislation on AI and cybersecurity, the government has taken some action in addressing growing concerns over cyberattacks on the nation’s infrastructure.

In October 20203, President Joe Biden signed an executive order providing guidelines to over 50 federal agencies in specific areas related to AI, including safety and security; innovation and competition; privacy; equity; and civil rights.

Congress held a hearing earlier this year on the cybersecurity risks of U.S. dams.

Most recently, the Commerce Department announced the addition of four new experts to the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC), which advises the White House on issues related to AI.

“Empowering our nation’s top talent in AI across academia, industry, non-profits and civil society is fundamental to the responsible development and deployment of this generation-defining technology. That’s why NAIAC’s work is so critical to our collaborative effort to mitigate the risks so we can harness the benefits of artificial intelligence,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in a press release.

Attention to securing the nation’s infrastructure is deemed urgent by officials. A June 2024 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that there were 30,659 information security incidents reported to the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team in 2022.

According to the GAO study: “Such attacks could result in serious harm to human safety, national security, the environment and the economy.”