‘Ruthless prioritization’ needed in face of AI threats, says White House official
As AI tools complicate the cyber vulnerability landscape, a White House official focused on fortifying the government’s supply chain against digital threats suggested a back-to-basics approach.
Cheri Benedict, senior cyber supply chain advisor in the Executive Office of the President’s Office of the Federal Chief Information Officer, said that while she recognizes AI remains “a burgeoning environment,” she believes “it’s just going to come back to the basic hygiene of what we had to do already” — only now at a faster pace.
“I think all of that said, it takes ruthless prioritization … on what your key assets are and your priorities,” Benedict told attendees during a virtual Intelligence and National Security Alliance panel Tuesday.
She conceded that it can be difficult when there are seemingly endless patches and priorities, but emphasized that organizations need to ensure that everyone on relevant teams is aware of what assets are considered most important, so they can be “all hands on deck” when needed.
That’s particularly crucial as AI is also providing insight into cyber vulnerabilities that may have previously been unknown, Benedict explained. “I think making sure that when that data comes to you, that there’s a prioritization mechanism that you can take action on and communicate is going to be super important.”
Benedict’s comments came in response to an audience question about how the government is addressing threats to the supply chain driven by autonomous AI agents. While Benedict said government is “still figuring that out” and there were things she was unable to share, she stressed the importance of trust as well as the “ruthless prioritization” approach.
The current environment is “complex,” Benedict said, pointing specifically to OpenAI’s recent incident in which an AI agent escaped its testing environment, gained internet access, and attempted to hack Hugging Face to get answers for its prompt.
Benedict said it’s important to be aware of where AI is being used, pointing to AI discovery tools — or those that can review an environment for vulnerabilities — as an option. Agencies, specifically, have such tools available through the General Services Administration, she said.
Organizations used to have an environment they thought they could trust, she said, but infused with AI, “we’re looking at it in a whole new light and not sure what it’s capable of.”
