عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Technology

US Requiring New AI Safeguards for Government Use, Transparency

An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
TT
TT

US Requiring New AI Safeguards for Government Use, Transparency

An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

The White House said Thursday it is requiring federal agencies using artificial intelligence to adopt "concrete safeguards" by Dec. 1 to protect Americans’ rights and ensure safety as the government expands AI use in a wide range of applications.
The Office of Management and Budget issued a directive to federal agencies to monitor, assess and test AI’s impacts "on the public, mitigate the risks of algorithmic discrimination, and provide the public with transparency into how the government uses AI." Agencies must also conduct risk assessments and set operational and governance metrics, Reuters said.
The White House said agencies "will be required to implement concrete safeguards when using AI in a way that could impact Americans' rights or safety" including detailed public disclosures so the public knows how and when artificial intelligence is being used by the government.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order in October invoking the Defense Production Act to require developers of AI systems posing risks to US national security, the economy, public health or safety to share the results of safety tests with the US government before publicly released.
The White House on Thursday said new safeguards will ensure air travelers can opt out from Transportation Security Administration facial recognition use without delay in screening. When AI is used in federal healthcare to support diagnostics decisions a human must oversee "the process to verify the tools’ results."
Generative AI - which can create text, photos and videos in response to open-ended prompts - has spurred excitement as well as fears it could lead to job losses, upend elections and potentially overpower humans and catastrophic effects.
The White House is requiring government agencies to release inventories of AI use cases, report metrics about AI use and release government-owned AI code, models, and data if it does not pose risks.
The Biden administration cited ongoing federal AI uses, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency employing AI to assess structural hurricane damage, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses AI to predict spread of disease and detect opioid use. The Federal Aviation Administration is using AI to help "deconflict air traffic in major metropolitan areas to improve travel time."
The White House plans to hire 100 AI professionals to promote the safe use of AI and is requiring federal agencies to designate chief AI officers within 60 days.
In January, the Biden administration proposed requiring US cloud companies to determine whether foreign entities are accessing US data centers to train AI models through "know your customer" rules.

Most Viewed

 
 
Technology

North Korean Charged in Cyberattacks on US Hospitals, NASA and Military Bases

A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP
A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP
TT
TT

North Korean Charged in Cyberattacks on US Hospitals, NASA and Military Bases

A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP
A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP

A North Korean military intelligence operative has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack into American health care providers, NASA, US military bases and international entities, stealing sensitive information and installing ransomware to fund more attacks, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

The indictment of Rim Jong Hyok by a grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, accuses him of laundering the money through a Chinese bank and then using it to buy computer servers and fund more cyberattacks on defense, technology and government entities around the world.

The hacks on American hospitals and other health care providers disrupted the treatment of patients, officials said. He's accused of targeting 17 entities across 11 US states, including NASA and US military bases, as well as defense and energy companies in China, Taiwan and South Korea, according to The AP.

For more than three months, Rim and other members of the Andariel Unit of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau had access to NASA’s computer system, extracting over 17 gigabytes of unclassified data, the indictment says. They also reached inside computer systems for defense companies in Michigan and California, as well as Randolph Air Force base in Texas and Robins Air Force base in Georgia, authorities say.

The malware enabled the state-sponsored Andariel group to send stolen information to North Korean military intelligence, furthering the country’s military and nuclear aspirations, federal prosecutors said. They've gone after details of fighter aircraft, missile defense systems, satellite communications and radar systems, a senior FBI official said.

“While North Korea uses these types of cyber crimes to circumvent international sanctions and fund its political and military ambitions, the impact of these wanton acts have a direct impact on the citizens of Kansas,” said Stephen A. Cyrus, an FBI agent based in Kansas City.

Online court records do not list an attorney for Rim, who has lived in North Korea and worked at the military intelligence agency’s offices in both Pyongyang and Sinuiju, according to court records. A reward of up to $10 million has been offered for information that could lead to him or other foreign government operatives who target critical US infrastructure.

The Justice Department has prosecuted multiple cases related to North Korean hacking, often alleging a profit-driven motive that sets the nation's cybercriminals apart from hackers in Russia and China. In 2021, for instance, the department charged three North Korean computer programmers in a broad range of hacks including a destructive attack targeting an American movie studio and the attempted theft and extortion of more than $1.3 billion from banks and companies around the world.

In this case, the FBI was alerted by a Kansas medical center that was hit in May 2021. Hackers had encrypted its files and servers, blocking access to patient files, laboratory test results and computers needed to operate hospital equipment. A Colorado health care provider was affected by the same Maui ransomware variant.

A ransom note sent to the Kansas hospital demanded Bitcoin payments valued then at about $100,000, to be sent to a cryptocurrency address.

“Otherwise all of your files will be posted in the Internet which may lead you to loss of reputation and cause the troubles for your business,” the note reads. “Please do not waste your time! You have 48 hours only! After that the Main server will double your price.”

Federal investigators said they traced blockchains to follow the money: An unnamed co-conspirator transferred the Bitcoin to a virtual currency address belonging to two Hong Kong residents before it was converted into Chinese currency and transferred to a Chinese bank. The money was then accessed from an ATM in China next to the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge connecting China and North Korea, according to court records.

In 2022, the Justice Department said the FBI seized approximately $500,000 in ransom payments from the money laundering accounts, including the entire ransom payment from the hospital.

An arrest of Rim is unlikely, so the biggest outcome of the indictment is that it may lead to sanctions that could cripple the ability of North Korea to collect ransoms this way, which could in turn remove the motivation to conduct cyber attacks on entities like hospitals in the future, according to Allan Liska, an analyst with the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

“Now, unfortunately, that will force them to do more cryptocurrency theft. So it’s not going to stop their activity. But the hope is that we won’t have hospitals disrupted by ransomware attacks because they’ll know that they can’t get paid,” Liska said.

He also noted that a Chinese entity was among the victims and questioned what the country, which is an ally of North Korea, thinks of being targeted.

“China can’t be too thrilled about that,” he said.