Virginia Orders Cybersecurity Plan for AI Risks

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger ordered state officials to create a cybersecurity strategy and a Cyber Consortium focused on risks from artificial intelligence, SC Media reports. The consortium will bring together state agencies, academic institutions and private sector partners to strengthen infrastructure resilience.

The order follows incidents in which AI agents independently interacted with government websites. One incident involved unauthorized Freedom of Information Act requests submitted through a Virginia Department of Education portal, although no sensitive data was compromised.

The secretary of public safety and homeland security will work with the state AI Task Force to hold regular briefings with researchers and regulators. The order expands work begun in September, when Spanberger created the task force to examine workforce displacement, privacy and cybersecurity.