in effect
Executive Order 14409, signed June 2, 2026, directs federal agencies to strengthen cybersecurity of government systems using AI tools and to establish a voluntary framework for evaluating the most powerful AI models for national security risks. It also directs the Justice Department to prioritize prosecuting crimes that use AI to carry out computer fraud or unauthorized access.
Within 30 days, the Committee on National Security Systems, the Department of War, and the Department of Homeland Security’s CISA must each take action to harden their respective systems against cyber threats. Also within 30 days, the Treasury Department must stand up a voluntary AI cybersecurity clearinghouse — involving industry and critical infrastructure operators — to coordinate scanning for and patching software vulnerabilities. Within 60 days, NSA, CISA, and Treasury must build a classified process to identify which AI models qualify as “covered frontier models” and design a voluntary program where AI developers can share those models with the government for up to 30 days before broader release. Also within 60 days, the Office of Personnel Management must expand hiring pathways for federal cybersecurity specialists, and OMB must identify whether existing federal grant funding can support AI vulnerability research. Explicitly, nothing in the order creates a mandatory licensing or approval requirement for releasing AI models.
Federal agencies — particularly CISA, NSA, Treasury, the Department of War, and OMB — must take specific actions on tight deadlines. Private AI developers are invited (but not required) to participate in early-access sharing and vulnerability coordination programs. Operators of critical infrastructure such as rural hospitals, community banks, and local utilities may gain access to government-provided AI-enabled cybersecurity tools and services under the new framework.