U.S. bill names North Korea, Iran among countries of concern in AI cybersecurity push
U.S. bill would have NIST set voluntary standards against AI distillation attacks, naming North Korea and Iran.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.) and Rep. George Whitesides (D-Calif.) and referred to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. It would require NIST, within 180 days of enactment, to engage private-sector AI stakeholders to establish a definition of 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 measure would also require NIST to establish an AI Cybersecurity Roundtable within 180 days of enactment to develop voluntary standards and best practices for the defensive use of artificial intelligence for cybersecurity purposes.
The legislation identifies North Korea, China, Russia, Iran and Cuba as countries of concern.
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.