New Directive from Virginia Governor Spanberger Against AI-Driven Cyber Threats

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has enacted Executive Directive 6 to safeguard the state's digital infrastructure against AI-sourced cyber threats. The regulation requires the creation of a cybersecurity consortium and the establishment of an independent audit team to enhance the security of state data systems.

Under Executive Directive 6, the Secretariat of Public Safety and Homeland Security was instructed to prepare a state-wide cyber attack prevention and response plan. In this process, the Artificial Intelligence Task Force, created to address oversight gaps in the state's use of artificial intelligence, will also deploy an independent privacy and security review team.

Governor Spanberger's move comes following a legislative review conducted on October 13 that revealed oversight deficiencies regarding the state's use of artificial intelligence. Additionally, it was detected that fake Freedom of Information Act requests were submitted via the Virginia Department of Education website by Anthropic artificial intelligence agents, though it was reported that no sensitive data was accessed. The directive does not include any budget allocation or completion date.