The U.S. government wants the rest of the world to adopt its artificial intelligence cybersecurity standards, a top official with the Office of the National Cyber Director said Thursday.
As part of an effort to advance American AI, the administration will be “undertaking diplomacy efforts to promote American AI cybersecurity standards and norms, establishing industry best practices for secure AI deployment and harnessing the full potential of AI tools,” said Alexandra Seymour, principal deputy assistant national cyber director for policy.
Seymour’s comments at the 2026 Identity, Authentication, and the Road Ahead Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. partially reflect the Trump administration’s AI Action Plan released last summer, which said the departments of Commerce and State would “vigorously advocate for international AI governance approaches that promote innovation, reflect American values, and counter authoritarian influence,” but doesn’t explicitly mention international promotion of cybersecurity standards.
Some of that effort has already materialized, with internationally oriented guides released in both May and December. The United States also isn’t the only one looking to influence international standards for AI security.
AI also figures into the yet-to-be-released national cybersecurity strategy that Seymour’s office has been developing. And it dovetails with a pillar of the strategy focused on defending federal networks.
“While AI is already helping industries enhance security and address the challenge of escalating cyberattacks, this administration will promote the rapid implementation of AI-enabled cyber defensive tools to detect, divert and deceive threat actors who continue targeting our vital systems and sectors on our federal systems,” Seymour said. “We must get our house in order. They need rapid modernization, and we’re working on policies to harden our networks, update our technologies and ensure we’re prepared for a post-quantum future.”