China has dumped massive resources into artificial intelligence because Beijing knows AI dominance will shape the global economy AND the balance of military power for decades. Russia, Iran, and North Korea are racing to catch up.
The question isn’t whether AI will change the cyber battlefield — it already has.
The real question: Will America ensure the operators defending our most essential systems have the tools to stay ahead?
President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on AI innovation and security shows this administration understands a critical truth — America’s leadership in AI is inseparable from our leadership in national security.
The order directs the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to help federal agencies, state and local authorities, and critical infrastructure operators gain access to advanced AI cybersecurity tools.
“Our adversaries understand exactly what is at stake.”
It also creates a voluntary framework for advanced AI developers to work with the federal government to select trusted partners for early access before those models are released to the public.
That’s the right foundation — but the administration should build on it by ensuring trusted critical infrastructure operators are included in that early-access framework as well.
Federal agencies cannot defend the nation alone. They rely every day on privately operated networks, systems, and services. If those systems are vulnerable, government operations are vulnerable too.
Telecommunications companies and broadband providers don’t just serve millions of individual consumers — they underpin military readiness, emergency response, healthcare delivery, financial systems, education, and nearly every aspect of modern life.
Our adversaries understand this reality. They continue to target the networks Americans use to communicate, do business, call for help, and access essential services.
They know that if they can compromise those networks, they can disrupt far more than phone calls and internet service. They can put pressure on the systems that keep the country running.
The Five Eyes intelligence alliance — the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — recently warned that artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming cyber risk, accelerating the speed, scale, and sophistication of threats facing government, businesses, and critical infrastructure.
That’s why trusted critical infrastructure operators need access to the best AI tools to play defense well before malicious actors can access those same tools to play offense.
Banks, hospitals, electric utilities, telecommunications providers, and broadband networks should not be left waiting while hostile actors learn how to use the next generation of AI against them.
The administration should build on its early leadership by establishing a clear, secure process for these trusted operators to receive early access to frontier AI models before broad public release.
That process should be thoughtful and deliberate — it should require secure testing, protect sensitive information, and keep CISA closely involved.
The goal is simple: Find the weaknesses before our enemies do.
Trump’s order points the country in the right direction. The next step is making sure the operators who defend the systems Americans depend on every day have the tools they need to stay ahead.
