US looking for top minds to harness AI for cybersecurity


The US is looking for top experts to create next generation cybersecurity tools to protect critical infrastructure and other crucial systems.

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​​At Black Hat USA 2023, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) invited experts to participate in the AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC) – a two-year competition aimed to harness artificial intelligence to defend the software “on which all Americans rely.”

The call to participate addressed what DARPA called top computer scientists, AI experts, and software developers, among other specialists.

“In the past decade, we've seen the development of promising new AI-enabled capabilities. When used responsibly, we see significant potential for this technology to be applied to key cybersecurity issues. By automatically defending critical software at scale, we can have the greatest impact for cybersecurity across the country, and the world,” Perri Adams, DARPA’s AIxCC program manager, said.

According to DARPA experts, critical infrastructure is particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. Fortunately, “advances in modern technology may provide a path towards solving them.”

Up to several small businesses will receive funding to participate in the competition. DARPA will also allow open competition, asking participants to register and proceed without the funding.

DARPA also announced collaboration with companies like Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI to help participants develop state-of-the-art cybersecurity tools.

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