Trump AI Task Force Urges Leniency for Cyberattack Victims
The Trump administration's AI task force has urged federal regulators to hold back on enforcement against companies hit by cyberattacks in which AI overwhelmed their defenses. It wants the flexibility to last at least 12 months and backs voluntary reporting of incidents.
The Trump administration's AI task force is urging federal regulatory agencies not to take enforcement action against companies that suffer cyberattacks in which AI overwhelms their defenses, according to a statement issued after the group's second meeting. The latest cyber news from Washington sets a minimum of 12 months for that flexibility.
"It is clear that the cybersecurity risk environment has changed and organizations that only a short time ago had reasonable protections in place are now more vulnerable," the task force said. It added that "prior standards for taking regulatory action against organizations in response to cyber incidents may be outdated."
Instead, it said, agencies should "implement limitations on regulatory liability for good-faith voluntary reporting of cybersecurity vulnerabilities and incidents" when that is "lawful, practical, and consistent with the interests of the American people." The flexibility could be extended after an ongoing evaluation of the risk landscape.
The group said it wants to avoid a "chilling effect on reporting and information sharing at a time when reporting is critical."
Rules and reporting
Businesses have long complained that overlapping and contradictory cybersecurity rules pull resources away from incident response and defensive upgrades. The Trump administration, like its predecessor, has been looking for ways to cut that complexity.
A forthcoming incident-reporting rule from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) could add to it. The task force said it supports the rulemaking and hopes CISA sets "clear and practical reporting requirements that minimize duplication."
What officials discussed
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross described work to identify and reduce security risks from new AI models, according to a White House readout. The National Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have been testing new frontier models with major AI labs.
Cairncross and Emil Michael, the Pentagon's top research official, discussed talks with industry leaders on a process for companies to report AI-related incidents voluntarily. Under that framework, the government would analyze reported incidents and share information with the private sector.
The task force also repeated the administration's support for a long-term reauthorization of the 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. The law, which is close to expiring, gives companies liability protections when they share cyber threat data.
Companies should be able to report and fix risks "without fear that good-faith voluntary disclosures will expose them to punitive regulatory or administrative action or civil liability," the group said.
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