ACU: Trump AI Order Could Give Credit Unions Access To Advanced Cybersecurity Tools / Fresh Today / CUToday.info | #hacking | #cybersecurity | #infosec | #comptia | #pentest | #ransomware

WASHINGTON–An Executive Order on artificial intelligence (AI) released Tuesday does not create any new rights or obligations for credit unions but could impact them in several ways, America’s Credit Unions said.

A section of the order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the director of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Agency (CISA), to release binding operational directives designed to promote cyber defense within federal government systems within 30 days, ACU explained.

The order reads that these directives and other guidance should “facilitate access to cybersecurity tools and services including, where appropriate, covered frontier models for agencies, state and local authorities, and operators of critical infrastructure such as rural hospitals, community banks, and local utilities.”

CISA regards credit unions as critical infrastructure, which could potentially allow access to “frontier models” (developing technologies) to augment cybersecurity defenses, ACU said.

“As advanced AI models change the cyber threat landscape, we are pleased to see the Administration acting decisively to safeguard government and critical infrastructure systems, including those operated by credit unions,” said America’s Credit Unions Director of Innovation and Technology Andrew Morris. “Today’s Executive Order opens the door to new funding opportunities, technical assistance, and access to defensive AI capabilities which credit unions may one day leverage in the fight against cyber criminals.”

The order also requires:

• Treasury, DHS, and the Department of Defense to form within 30 days an “AI cybersecurity clearinghouse, in voluntary collaboration with the AI industry and operators of critical infrastructure” to coordinate and deconflict searching for and remediating software vulnerabilities;
• The Office of Management and Budget to determine whether any federal grant programs have available and relevant funding that can be directed toward applicants developing advanced AI vulnerability detection; and 
• Establish a public-private partnership model for vetting “covered frontier models” that are likely to have a national security impact.