Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

Days after Sam Altman and other AI executives joined calls for a slowdown of artificial intelligence development, OpenAI disclosed additional instances of its models going rogue over the past six months. The company published a blog post last week detailing six instances of models acting in “unexpected or concerning” ways since April.

Since nobody I know will even be using a government spy satellite, you might wonder why I am writing about Starshield, the military-grade network operated by SpaceX. I’ve been wondering lately about Starlink’s claim that it is interested in providing backhaul to cell sites and bigger broadband connections to rural businesses. This has always puzzled me because, at the local network level, a satellite network is no different than any other network.

The White House, Congress and the country's leading AI companies have allowed AI to grow faster, stronger, more powerful and wildly lucrative (and dangerous), with no serious effort to control it or spread the benefits beyond the super-wealthy. It's not too late to change this. But if they all dither, duck or dance around it, the chances of AI worst-case scenarios will explode, likely early in 2027, according to people who truly understands AI. Yes, President Trump opposes regulation or bipartisan efforts. Yes, AI companies are obsessed with more money, more speed.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the return of $3.08 billion to the U.S. Treasury, which was borrowed in March 2025 to support the FCC’s Rip-and-Replace reimbursement program. The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act established the reimbursement program to help eligible communications providers remove, replace, and dispose of covered communications equipment and services. The quick repayment of this loan was due in part to a successful AWS-3 Spectrum auction conducted in June 2026.

In the coming months, AI-enabled cyber attacks will become far more widespread and sophisticated as models around the world become increasingly capable. The companies and public services our communities depend on—from hospitals to water treatment plants to the infrastructure that powers the internet—are at risk. Today’s AI advances are already giving defenders new ways to fix weaknesses that have accumulated for years. If we act decisively, we can use the defenders’ window to make our digital world much more secure. We propose the following principles for a collective response:

In January 2025, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) announced that he would not seek reelection for a third term. The Associated Press's Joey Cappelletti and Isabella Volmert wrote, "Having lost Michigan in the presidential race, Peters’ decision forces Democrats to defend a critical Senate seat in Michigan without the advantage of an incumbent." On August 4, 2026, Michigan held primaries for governor and U.S. Congress. In the Senate race, Dr.

President Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum empowering Federal law enforcement to use cyber tools to disrupt transnational criminal organizations that operate in foreign jurisdictions to attack Americans. 

Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) led members of Congress in demanding additional information from the artificial intelligence companies Anthropic and OpenAI regarding incidents in which AI models have hacked into other organizations.

Strengthening California’s defenses against emerging artificial intelligence-enabled cyber threats, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a first-in-the-nation initiative to protect state assets and critical infrastructure while advancing responsible AI innovation.

The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau announces the conditional approval of two additional Cybersecurity Label Administrators for the Federal Communications Commission’s voluntary cybersecurity labeling program for consumer wireless Internet of Things products and reiterates program obligations. The Bureau finds that the following entities meet the Commission’s program criteria and requirements and conditionally approves each to serve as a CLA: