Technology and cybersecurity leaders are largely applauding President Donald Trump’s June 2 artificial intelligence (AI) executive order, saying it strikes a balance between advancing U.S. AI leadership and addressing growing cyber threats. However, they cautioned that the order’s success will depend on how effectively it is implemented.
The order asks AI companies to voluntarily submit their advanced AI models to the federal government for testing “up to 30 days before they plan to release such models to other trusted partners.”
The order also tasks several agencies – including the Department of Defense, Department of the Treasury, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency – with strengthening U.S. cyber defenses to address emerging threats posed by advanced AI capabilities.
The directive arrives amid growing concern in Washington about the cybersecurity implications of frontier AI models, such as Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Preview model.
Industry sees AI innovation and security as intertwined
Technology leaders lauded the order’s effort to pair AI advancement with cybersecurity protections.
“This executive order recognizes that leadership in AI depends on advancing innovation and security together,” said Majed Saadi, chief technology officer at Hitachi Federal.
Saadi said the company supports the administration’s focus on “accelerating responsible AI adoption while strengthening the cyber defenses needed to protect government systems, critical infrastructure, intellectual property, and sensitive data.”
He added that achieving those goals “will require sustained collaboration between government and industry to ensure advanced technologies are deployed securely, effectively, and at mission speed.”
Felipe Fernandez, chief technology officer at Fortinet Federal, struck a similar tone, saying the executive order reflects “a growing recognition that AI innovation and cybersecurity must advance together.”
“The order’s emphasis on AI-powered defense, vulnerability management, and collaboration between government and industry acknowledges that defending modern systems requires both advanced technology and coordinated action,” Fernandez said. “Success will depend on helping agencies operationalize AI securely while maintaining the speed and innovation needed to address evolving threats.”
Ryan Gillis, senior vice president and global head of government partnerships at Zscaler, said the order “marshals a necessary call to action for securing U.S. federal, state, local, and critical infrastructure in light of the unprecedented scope, scale, and sophistication of cyber threats and defensive capabilities ushered in by Mythos and other frontier models.”
Support for voluntary frontier model reviews
Several reactions also focused on the administration’s decision to establish a voluntary review framework for frontier AI models.
“The AI executive order from President Trump strikes the right balance between national security and tech leadership,” said Bill Wright, head of government affairs at Everpure.
Wright said the order “steers clear of a heavy-handed regulatory approach” and praised the decision to establish “an agile, 30-day voluntary review window for frontier models, rather than rigid pre-clearance rules.”
The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) also welcomed that aspect of the order.
“The EO further attempts to avoid the deeply concerning implications of a mandatory licensing regime for release of new models,” said Samir Jain, CDT’s vice president of policy.
Still, Jain cautioned that while testing and benchmarking programs can help address cybersecurity risks, “the EO should not become a mechanism for the administration to punish companies for political or other arbitrary reasons.”
“We will be closely monitoring the details of its implementation as they emerge,” Jain added.
Industry urges focus on critical infrastructure
While industry leaders praised the order, many emphasized that execution will determine its success.
“The true test of this order lies in its execution across our critical infrastructure,” Wright said.
He added that the directive to secure software vulnerabilities affecting rural hospitals, community banks, and local utilities is “a necessary move,” but warned that “these resource-constrained sectors cannot do it alone.”
“High-performance, cyber-resilient data infrastructure is the unsung hero required to safely handle the computing demands of AI training and deployment,” Wright said.
Cisco Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins also focused on cybersecurity implementation, calling the executive order “a meaningful step forward that strengthens national security while giving the private sector the runway to responsibly innovate and sustain America’s global AI leadership.”
“By prioritizing the rapid development and deployment of security patches and offering a voluntary, structured path for trusted defenders to get to pre-release access to advanced cyber model previews, the U.S. can also now move at the speed of the threat,” Robbins said.
“We look forward to partnering with the Administration to scale these AI-powered defenses and better secure the American economy and critical infrastructure,” he added.
Resilience remains a priority
Several cybersecurity leaders argued that organizations must prepare for AI-driven threats that continue to grow in sophistication.
“This executive order reflects a growing reality: as AI accelerates both cyber defense and cyberattacks, organizations have less time to respond and must assume some threats will get through,” said Gary Barlet, public sector chief technology officer at Illumio.
“The real challenge isn’t detection, it’s containment,” Barlet said.
He urged agencies and critical infrastructure operators to focus on “limiting lateral movement, containing breaches quickly, and protecting critical systems even after attackers gain an initial foothold.”
“AI can help improve analysis and response, but it doesn’t fix underlying gaps,” Barlet said. “Without strong controls and segmentation, faster attacks will simply scale the impact of failures. Resilience has to be built into the architecture from the start, otherwise organizations risk amplifying the consequences of every breach.”
