The president signed an executive order directing federal agencies to upgrade government cybersecurity defenses and establish a voluntary framework for advanced artificial intelligence developers. The document, signed on June 2, 2026, and released in the Federal Register on June 5, 2026, requires coordinated action across executive departments to secure technology and protect intellectual property.
The executive order states that advanced artificial intelligence introduces new national security considerations. According to the document, the policy of the United States is to promote innovation and security by working collaboratively with the private sector to modernize information systems and harden them against external threats. The policy also aims to protect intellectual property from theft and cultivate advanced capabilities.
The order gives several agencies 30 days to act. The Committee on National Security Systems and the Secretary of War must prioritize the cyber defense of their respective information systems. The Secretary of Homeland Security is directed to release guidance to expedite cyber defenses for civilian federal government systems and facilitate access to cybersecurity tools for critical infrastructure operators.
Within the same 30-day period, the Secretary of the Treasury must form an artificial intelligence cybersecurity clearinghouse. According to the order, the clearinghouse will coordinate and deconflict scanning for software vulnerabilities, discover and validate such vulnerabilities, and coordinate and prioritize remediation and the distribution of patches. The Office of Management and Budget will determine if existing federal grants can fund the development of artificial intelligence vulnerability detection.
Additionally, the Office of Personnel Management has 60 days to expand hiring pathways for federal cybersecurity specialists.
Within 60 days, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War through the director of the National Security Agency, and the Secretary of Homeland Security through the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency must develop a classified benchmarking process. This process will assess advanced models and determine a threshold for designating them as covered frontier models. These officials will also design a voluntary framework allowing developers to provide the federal government with access to covered models for up to 30 days before releasing them to other partners.
The order specifies that nothing in Section 3 authorizes the creation of mandatory governmental licensing, preclearance, or permitting requirements for new artificial intelligence models.
The Attorney General is directed to prioritize the enforcement of federal criminal laws against individuals using artificial intelligence to illegally access or damage computers. According to the order, the Department of War will bear the costs of publishing the document.