HOUSTON, TEXAS – FEBRUARY 17: Houston Water Director, Greg Eyerly, leads a tour of The East Water Purification Plant on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 in Houston. A White House pilot project designed to boost the cybersecurity of water systems was announced on Monday in Texas. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
United States National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross (2nd-L) accompanied by United States Chief Technology Officer Dr. Ethan Klein (L), White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios (3rd-L), U.S. President Donald Trump (R), and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (2nd-R), speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on June 22, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The Trump administration executive order on artificial intelligence tried to strike the balance between responsible use, security and mutual benefit, all with an eye toward not making…
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., attends a subcommittee hearing with the Senate Committee on Appropriations in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Chairman Rick Crawford, R-Ark., center, and ranking member Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., right, conduct the House Select Intelligence Committee hearing titled “Worldwide Threats Assessment,” in Longworth building on March 26, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
A diffuse landscape, fruitful targets, companies not stepping up, AI’s influence and flagging U.S. government efforts all figure into a shifting threat.
Sean Cairncross said the idea rather is to collaborate with the private sector in a way that helps the U.S. government take the battle to its adversaries.
Then-Millenium challenge corporation CEO Sean Cairncross speaks during a ceremony on Aug. 5, 2019 at the presidential palace in Abidjan. (Photo by ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP) (Photo credit should read ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)
The national cyber director is pitching an approach that blends cyber operations with diplomacy, law enforcement and pressure on CEOs to shore up their organizations.
Hackers have cut their attack timelines from weeks to hours while the government spreads resources too thin. We need to stop pretending we can protect everything and…