Taking action: a roadmap for leaders
Roadmap for leaders
For CEOs and CISOs ready to take these challenges seriously, several steps can help address national security risks.
First, conduct a geopolitical risk assessment. Evaluate your AI supply chain, partnerships, and data practices through a geopolitical lens. Where are your hardware components sourced? Who are your cloud providers, and what jurisdictions govern their operations?
The answers to these questions should inform a detailed risk map. Partner with firms specializing in geopolitical intelligence to understand how shifts in global politics might affect your vulnerabilities.
Second, collaborate with the U. S. government. Build formal relationships with federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce.
Engage in public-private partnerships focused on AI security and participate in federal initiatives like the National Artificial Intelligence Inititative. Beyond compliance, these partnerships provide insight into emerging threats and access to tools that can enhance your organization’ s security posture.
Third, integrate“ security by design” across the AI lifecycle. Security must be a core consideration from the outset of any AI project. This includes safeguarding training data, securing cloud storage, and testing models against adversarial attacks. Implement automated systems to monitor for unusual patterns or anomalies in AI behavior post-deployment. Consider leveraging frameworks such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology( NIST) AI Risk Management Framework to standardize your approach to identifying and mitigating risks.
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Assess geopolitical risks
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Collaborate with federal agencies
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Integrate security by design
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