AI Cyber Challenge - Opportunity to Fix Critical Software

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the AI Cyber Challenge, a two-year competition designed to identify and fix software vulnerabilities using AI tools led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) . With roughly $20 million available in prizes on the table, the challenge hopes to improve the security of critical software, critical infrastructure, and government systems.???

Interestingly, there doesn’t seem to a direct link between this effort and another Administration initiative to improve software security as described in an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo, M-21-30, released on August 10, 2021. In it, OMB requires agencies to identify all agency critical software and implement security measures designated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) .?Having this AI challenge focus on the critical software defined by agencies would seem to be a prudent step that could help measurably and quickly improve the state of critical software in use across the U.S. Government.???

Here’s to hoping challenge organizers and OMB leadership recognize this opportunity and harness their energy on addressing it!??