Governance and Legislation
USPTO debuts 2025 AI strategy
(Alexandra Kelley – NextGov – 14 January 2025) The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s new artificial intelligence strategy looks to bring AI technology into the operations that support expediting and supporting patent and copyright applications. Unveiled on Tuesday, the strategy unites five focus areas for the agency: advancing the development of intellectual property policies and promoting AI innovation and inclusion; building best-in-class AI capabilities through product and computational development; promoting the responsible use of AI internally; developing an AI expertise within the agency workforce; and engaging in interagency collaboration. – https://www.nextgov.com/artificial-intelligence/2025/01/uspto-debuts-2025-ai-strategy/402166/?oref=ng-homepage-river
OMB releases last-minute data center guidance
(Natalie Alms – NextGov – 14 January 2025) The Biden administration released new data center guidance for agencies on Tuesday as the administration winds down before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The new memo implements the Federal Data Center Enhancement Act included in the annual, must-pass defense bill in late 2023. The law required OMB to put out guidance with minimum requirements for cybersecurity, resiliency and availability for government data centers. – https://www.nextgov.com/policy/2025/01/omb-releases-last-minute-data-center-guidance/402178/?oref=ng-homepage-river
Biden orders federal land to be leased for AI data center development
(Alexandra Kelley – NextGov – 14 January 2025) Outgoing President Joe Biden took further steps to uphold his administration’s tech policy agenda in the face of the upcoming transition, signing an executive order on Tuesday that will utilize federal land for data center development in a bid to continue the U.S.’s dominance in artificial intelligence innovation. Marrying ambitions for leadership in AI innovation with clean energy goals, the EO will ask the Departments of Defense and Energy to lease federal land sites to private sector entities to construct frontier AI data centers “at speed and scale,” supported by renewable energy. – https://www.nextgov.com/artificial-intelligence/2025/01/biden-orders-federal-land-be-leased-ai-data-center-development/402177/?oref=ng-home-top-story
Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of New-Style Research and Development Institutions
(Center for Security and Emerging Technology – 14 January 2025) The following Chinese government policy document encourages the creation of “new-style R&D institutions,” which differ from traditional Chinese laboratories and research institutes in that they are not state-run and have additional sources of income besides government funding. Historically, Chinese state-run R&D labs have had difficulty converting research breakthroughs into commercially viable applications. Researchers at these new R&D institutes are allowed to profit from their inventions, giving them a stronger incentive to market their innovations. – https://cset.georgetown.edu/publication/china-new-research-institution-opinions/
AI tools can help reduce climate risks, State strategy says
(Edward Graham – NextGov – 13 January 2025) The U.S. can leverage artificial intelligence capabilities to help prepare for the long-term effects of climate change, the State Department said in an 898-page blueprint released on Friday. The department’s National Adaptation and Resilience Planning Strategy outlined the potential impacts of a warming planet on various industries and communities and identified steps that can be taken to mitigate these risks. – https://www.nextgov.com/artificial-intelligence/2025/01/ai-tools-can-help-reduce-climate-risks-state-strategy-says/402134/?oref=ng-homepage-river
Security
Managing the Security Risks of Geoengineering
(Erin Sikorsky, Tom Ellison – Lawfare – 14 January 2025) As each year is hotter than the last and climate disasters pile up around the world, interest grows in geoengineering, particularly solar radiation modification (SRM)—techniques designed to cool the planet artificially. In September 2024, the British Advanced Research and Invention Agency announced it would fund new geoengineering research, including outdoor experiments, to the tune of 57 million pounds (approximately $75 million). This effort adds to the growing pot of money from philanthropists and tech entrepreneurs directed toward such research in recent years, including a new program the Environmental Defense Fund began in June 2024. – https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/managing-the-security-risks-of-geoengineering
Browser-Based Cyber-Threats Surge as Email Malware Declines
(Alessandro Mascellino – Infosecurity Magazine – 15 January 2025) Browser-based cyber-threats have surged throughout 2024, marking a significant shift in the tactics employed by malicious actors. According to new findings from the 2024 Threat Data Trends report by the eSentire Threat Response Unit (TRU), while malware delivered via email declined last year, browser-sourced threats, including drive-by downloads and malicious advertisements, rose sharply. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/browser-cyberthreats-surge-email/
Remediation Times Drop Sharply as Cyber Hygiene Take Up Surges
(Phil Muncaster – Infosecurity Magazine – 14 January 2025) Critical national infrastructure (CNI) providers are getting better at remediating exploited vulnerabilities and other cyber hygiene best practices, according to the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The agency’s new Cybersecurity Performance Goals Adoption Report analyzed the performance of close to 7800 CNI organizations since 2022. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/remediation-times-drop-cyber/
Critical Infrastructure Urged to Scrutinize Product Security During Procurement
(James Coker – Infosecurity Magazine – 14 January 2025) Critical infrastructure organizations have been urged to take action to ensure their operational technology (OT) products are secure by design. Government agencies from the Five Eyes intelligence and security alliance, alongside European partners, issued a joint advisory on January 13 to critical infrastructure firms setting out the key security considerations when purchasing OT products. The guidance is designed to ensure OT owners and operators choose products and manufacturers that follow secure-by-design principles which reduce the likelihood of damaging attacks occurring. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/critical-infrastructure-product/
Manchester Law Firm Leads 15,000 to Sue Google and Microsoft over AI Data
(Kevin Poireault – Infosecurity Magazine – 14 January 2025) Manchester-based law firm Barings Law has rallied 15,000 people to sue Google and Microsoft over numerous alleged violations of data misuse. Following a two-year investigation into Google and Microsoft, the law firm claimed to have found evidence that significant amounts of the data the two tech giants collected were being used in training and developing AI models. These findings were published in late 2024. – https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/law-firm-sue-google-microsoft-ai/