A Top US Cyber Official's Warning: "We Won't Have Time to Pick Up the Pieces"

Acting Federal Chief Information Security Officer Michael Duffy told a panel at a cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas that government and private-sector organisations have historically been reactive on network security — and that approach needs to change given AI-era hacking risks.

"We likely won't have time to pick up the pieces with what we're seeing in these AI capabilities," Duffy said. "The next decade of policy can't be on the heels of some major incident."

He pointed to rapid breakthroughs in AI systems, including Anthropic's Mythos model, as having stirred concern that the technology could be used to launch devastating cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. Under a June executive order from President Trump, the administration created Golden Eagle, a clearinghouse for sharing information about cyber vulnerabilities detected using AI — part of a broader voluntary safety-testing framework for cutting-edge models.

Duffy's remarks came shortly after Bloomberg News reported that hackers had launched a wave of sophisticated attacks on Wall Street firms in recent days.

On the same panel, DHS Assistant Secretary for Cyber, Infrastructure Risk and Resilience Joseph Alm struck a similar note, while also stressing the need to maintain the US's global AI lead without limiting access to a select few. "Cyber compromise is not a black swan anymore. It's just a swan," Alm said. "You need to change your mindset to understand that in the era of democratized access to vulnerabilities by everyone, there will be a multiyear phase where everyone is vulnerable."

Source: Insurance Journal