U.S. bill targets AI cybersecurity threats from North Korea, Iran

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers have introduced a bill aimed at strengthening American cybersecurity defenses against AI attacks, naming North Korea and Iran among countries of concern, congressional data showed Monday.

The AI Cyber Defense Act, introduced by Rep. Pat Harrigan and Rep. George Whitesides and referred to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to work with private-sector AI stakeholders to develop voluntary standards and best practices for detecting and preventing AI distillation attacks.

The legislation identifies North Korea, China, Russia, Iran and Cuba as countries of concern.

The measure would require NIST to engage with private-sector AI stakeholders within 180 days of enactment to establish a definition of so-called AI distillation attacks and develop voluntary standards and best practices for detecting and preventing them.

AI distillation refers to a technique in which knowledge or capabilities from one AI model are transferred to another.

The bill would also require NIST to establish an AI Cybersecurity Roundtable within 180 days of enactment to develop voluntary standards and best practices relating to the defensive use of AI for cybersecurity purposes.

The introduction of the bill comes as the U.S. Treasury Department proposed last week expanding restrictions on American investments in sensitive technologies to include North Korea and several other countries, as Washington seeks to prevent adversaries from using U.S. capital to develop advanced military capabilities.

Yonhap