WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), chairman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection, delivered the following opening statement in a hearing to discuss the secure implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen U.S. cybersecurity.

Watch Chairman Garbarino’s full opening statement in a hearing entitled, “Security to Model: Securing Artificial Intelligence to Strengthen Cybersecurity.”

As prepared for delivery:

In late 2022, generative artificial intelligence entered the public sphere and became a viral sensation. Today, generative AI has evolved into a useful tool for cyber criminals, nation-state cyber actors, and cyber defense teams across the globe. In just a few short years, AI has evolved so quickly that we are now discussing a new type of AI: agentic AI. The use of agents raises important questions about how much decision-making control AI should have—and how these tools can be secured.
 
Innovative American cybersecurity companies have developed cutting-edge tools to integrate AI into cyber defense across the public and private sectors. AI is upscaling cybersecurity teams’ ability to manage vulnerabilities, detect and analyze threats, track regulatory compliance, and automate responses to security incidents. 
 
These new capabilities can help reduce cybersecurity teams’ workload and produce better cybersecurity outcomes. This is especially crucial considering our nation’s significant shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals.
 
However, we must be clear-eyed: while AI bolsters our productivity and security, our adversaries also hope to use the technology for their own gain. Our nation’s adversaries increasingly weaponize AI to scale and more quickly develop attacks against American citizens, businesses, and government entities. Additionally, phishing attacks have increased nearly 1,200% since the rise of generative AI in late 2022.
 
Beyond cyberattacks, malicious actors exploit AI models for nefarious purposes, such as conducting AI-assisted social engineering attacks, developing ransomware, and creating autonomous attack bots. The adversarial use of AI is most evident in “deepfakes,” where attackers can impersonate a trusted individual with AI-generated audio and video, seeking financial gain or access to secure networks.
 
Threat actors also directly target the integrity of AI models, underscoring why security is an imperative. 
 
Through manipulation, attackers attempt to destabilize AI models, deteriorating their accuracy and performance by targeting training data, input data, and other structural components.
 
As our enemies continue their endeavors to compromise and weaponize AI systems, we must ensure that security remains at the forefront of innovation in artificial intelligence. Emerging AI technology must be constructed with the appropriate security measures to be resilient against malicious actors. 
 
While our adversaries leverage AI to improve their ability to target the United States, we must use it to secure and defend our technological advancements and infrastructure. AI is our competitive advantage—one that will keep us ahead of our adversaries, as long as we build and use it securely.
 
Today, we are joined by a panel of expert witnesses from the private sector whose organizations are pioneering innovative AI solutions. 
 
I’m pleased to have representatives from Securin, Microsoft, Trellix, and Cranium AI with us today, and I look forward to discussing how we can responsibly harness the benefits of AI without sacrificing security. 
 
The growing dependence on AI—coupled with strategic competition with foreign adversarial nations in this domain—requires close coordination between industry and government to ensure that the U.S. remains ahead of emerging technological threats. I look forward to hearing our witnesses’ perspectives on how we can encourage best practices for developing secure AI technology now and in the future.

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