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Ahead of Beijing: Common Cause on AI’s Biggest Risk

Ahead of Beijing: Common Cause on AI’s Biggest Risk

Later this week, Presidents Trump and Xi will sit down in Beijing. AI is on the agenda. Just two weeks ago, IST’s Steven M. Kelly, AI Policy Network’s Mark Beall, and IAPS’ Karson Elmgren also traveled to China with a mission to discuss AI. In a recap blog, they emphasize the need for collaboration.

AI, artificial intelligence, China, dialogue, loss of control

May 13, 2026

Q&A: From Capability to Trust: AI Agents & Agency in the Internet Ecosystem

Q&A: From Capability to Trust: AI Agents & Agency in the Internet Ecosystem

As AI agents rapidly reshape how the internet functions, how can we preserve trust and stability in our digital ecosystem? Today’s report examined core challenges presented by the proliferation of agents across our systems, and offered recommendations for policymakers, industry leaders, and more.

agency, agentic, agents, AI, artificial intelligence, attribution, authorization, identity, intellectual property, stability, trust

April 30, 2026

What Anthropic’s Mythos Preview Tells Us About AI Loss of Control Risk

What Anthropic’s Mythos Preview Tells Us About AI Loss of Control Risk

The release of Claude Mythos Preview has made cyber headlines. But instead of viewing it through the lens of misuse, policymakers should actually be approaching Mythos through the lens of AI Loss of Control, argue Ritika Verma and Mariami Tkeshelashvili.

AI, artificial intelligence, cyber, loss of control, Mythos, system card

April 29, 2026

UnDisruptable27 Newsletter: Is Secure-By-Design too late for Lifeline Functions? What can be done, for whom, by when?

UnDisruptable27 Newsletter: Is Secure-By-Design too late for Lifeline Functions? What can be done, for whom, by when?

Is it too late for secure-by-design? That provocative question was at the heart of our presentation at the RSAC Conference this year. In UnDisruptable27's latest newsletter, we recap their mock debate, concluding that even though the best time might have been years ago, the second best time to implement secure-by-design is now.

April 27, 2026

Russia Didn’t Start the Iran War. It Still Benefits from It.

Russia Didn’t Start the Iran War. It Still Benefits from It.

Russia has emerged as one of the quiet winners of the 2026 war with Iran, turning the conflict into a modest but timely strategic opportunity, writes IST Senior Associate for Nuclear Policy Brandon Cortino.

energy, Iran, missile, missile defense, natural gas, Russia, strategic competition, Ukraine

April 24, 2026

Design Obligation or Third-Party Liability? The White House Framework and AI’s Grey Area

Design Obligation or Third-Party Liability? The White House Framework and AI’s Grey Area

The White House’s newly-released National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence addresses the boundary between federal and state AI regulation, including a recommendation that states should not hold developers liable for third parties’ unlawful use of their models. Gabrielle Tran examines what this means for the emerging legal landscape around AI harm.

AI, artificial intelligence, chatbot, Executive Order, generative AI, liability, Section 230, third party

April 13, 2026

Q&A: Where do we go from here? IST Reflections on RSAC ‘26

Q&A: Where do we go from here? IST Reflections on RSAC ‘26

Once a year, the cybersecurity community converges on San Francisco. From the expo floor to vendor pop ups in Yerba Buena Gardens, the SOMA neighborhood is abuzz for four days with hackers, researchers, and government policy experts eager to share insights. But this year, the din was a little different.

AI, congress, critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, K-12 Cyber Defense Coalition, K-12 Education, RSA, RSAC, UnDisruptable27

April 2, 2026

Who Sets the Rules? The Imminent GDPR-ification of Product Cybersecurity

Who Sets the Rules? The Imminent GDPR-ification of Product Cybersecurity

Just as Europe set the global standard for data privacy with the GDPR—without U.S. input—other jurisdictions worldwide are poised to do the same for product cybersecurity, and the window for American policymakers to act is closing fast.

congress, FAR, GDPR, IoT, legislation, OT, product cybersecurity

March 19, 2026

UnDisruptable27 Newsletter: This is why UnDisruptable27 exists

UnDisruptable27 Newsletter: This is why UnDisruptable27 exists

In the aftermath of last week's attack on a U.S. medical device manufacturer by a pro-Iran regime hacktivist group, UnDisruptable27's newsletter reflects on its very reason for existence: "to ensure that our communities can take the punch that's coming, even if it's from our most capable foes."

2027, Critical Effect, critical infrastructure, hospital, Iran, Stryker, water utilities

March 17, 2026

The Fight Comes to Our Shores: Breaking Down the Cyber Attack on Stryker

The Fight Comes to Our Shores: Breaking Down the Cyber Attack on Stryker

On March 11, a pro-Iran regime hacking group wiped the devices of U.S. medical device manufacturer Stryker, marking the first cyber attack on domestic soil in the war in Iran. IST convened a pop-up webinar with friends and adjuncts to break down the attack, consider its implications, and answer pressing questions from the community.

attack management, critical infrastructure, cyber, cyber attacks, healthcare, Iran, resilience, webinar

March 17, 2026

Crossed Wires and Rising Escalations: IST Hosts Workshop on Reinvigorating Nuclear Crisis Communications

Crossed Wires and Rising Escalations: IST Hosts Workshop on Reinvigorating Nuclear Crisis Communications

On February 18, 2026, the Institute for Security and Technology’s Nuclear Policy team convened for a workshop and scenario-based exercise titled “Reinvigorating Nuclear Crisis Communications in an Era of Emerging Technologies” with leading diplomats, policy experts, and technologists in Geneva, Switzerland.

arms control, crisis communications, escalation, mesh networks, New START, nuclear, risk reduction

March 9, 2026

IST Experts Weigh in on the 2026 Cyber Strategy

IST Experts Weigh in on the 2026 Cyber Strategy

Today’s Cyber Strategy for America outlined six key priorities for the administration’s “cyber vision.” IST experts weigh in on what’s there, what isn’t, and what the plan means for cybersecurity going forward.

critical infrastructure, cyber offense, cybersecurity, deterrence, National Cybersecurity Strategy, Strategy, White House

March 6, 2026

Reflecting on the Munich Cybersecurity Conference Roller Coaster: Digital Sovereignty, Decoupling, and the Risks and Opportunities of AI

Reflecting on the Munich Cybersecurity Conference Roller Coaster: Digital Sovereignty, Decoupling, and the Risks and Opportunities of AI

IST Chief Strategy Officer Megan Stifel visited Germany in February to join cybersecurity experts from around the globe at the Munich Cyber Security Conference. From digital sovereignty to the risks and opportunities of AI, she reflects on her experience for the NatSpecs blog.

artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, decoupling, digital sovereignty, Munich, transatlantic

March 5, 2026

Lessons from Moltbook: When Agents Talk to Agents

Lessons from Moltbook: When Agents Talk to Agents

Moltbook, a Reddit-like forum meant solely for AI agents, had already garnered over 1.5 million users before research suggested that a multi-agent environment with weak cybersecurity guardrails could be a hotbed for scaling fraud and influence operations. For the IST blog, Gabrielle Tran outlines what this means for the cyber-enabled manipulation of tomorrow.

AI, AI agents, artificial intelligence, fraud, malware, phishing, prompt injection, trust

February 26, 2026

Q&A: An AI Loss of Control “Warning Shot”

Q&A: An AI Loss of Control “Warning Shot”

How might you lose control of a system as complex as a frontier AI model? In this month's newsletter, we speak to the authors of IST's newest report diving into the risk of AI Loss of Control – that is, models diverging from authorized constraints, to the extent that a human operator can no longer prevent or constrain undesired outcomes - and presenting a framework for mitigation.

AI, AI Loss of Control, artificial intelligence, deception, model drift, risk reduction, scheming

February 19, 2026

Something Mysterious Is Happening

Something Mysterious Is Happening

In a blog reflecting on her co-authored report, AI Loss of Control Risks, Mariami Tkeshelashvili writes, "There is a difference between embracing mystery as a driver of discovery and being incurious about risks that are already becoming visible. Monitoring AI behaviours that we cannot fully explain is not pessimism—it is responsibility. It is what keeps us safe."

AI, artificial intelligence, deception, Indications and Warning, loss of control, manipulation, monitoring, risk reduction, scheming, strategic foresight

February 19, 2026