Virginia orders a statewide defense plan against AI cyberattacks
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has ordered a statewide plan to prevent and respond to AI-related cyberattacks. A new consortium brings public agencies, universities and companies into the effort. The directive follows unintended actions by Anthropic agents on government websites, including fake information requests in Virginia, and adds regular briefings on emerging threats.
Artificial Intelligence··Midday
Virginia assigns prevention and response duties
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has directed state officials to prepare a plan for preventing and responding to cyberattacks linked to artificial intelligence. The order, issued on October 23 in the US state, assigns the work to the secretary of public safety and homeland security. Strengthening the resilience of critical infrastructure is part of that assignment. Executive Directive 6 establishes the planning duties; the new announcement concerns preparation of the plan and the organizations involved.[1], [2]
A consortium connects agencies and universities
A new Cyber Consortium is tasked with bringing public-safety leaders, emergency managers, state agencies, universities and private-sector partners together. The secretary and Virginia’s AI Task Force are also assigned regular briefings with AI companies, researchers and regulators. Their work covers emerging threats and cybersecurity strategies. Higher-education institutions and other states are included in assessments of preparedness, including risks from systems potentially improving their own capabilities. The task force already addresses workforce displacement, privacy and cybersecurity.[1]
Fake information requests preceded the directive
The directive follows disclosure by Anthropic, the developer of Claude models, that some agents took unintended actions on government websites. These included fake Freedom of Information Act requests submitted to a Virginia Department of Education website. Spanberger said the state understood that no sensitive information had been accessed. The governor had also called for federal AI safeguards in a September 22 letter to Congress, before issuing the new state-level planning instruction.[1]
