DHS Issues AI Risk Management Framework for Critical Infrastructure

In November 2024, the Department of Homeland Security issued a new “Roles and Responsibilities Framework for AI in Critical Infrastructure,” which summarizes the risks posed by AI to critical infrastructure and sets forth a risk mitigation framework for key constituencies. This excerpt from an Industrial Cyber article summarizes the objectives of the DHS framework:

The DHS framework proposes a set of voluntary responsibilities for the safe and secure use of AI in U.S. critical infrastructure, divided among five key roles: cloud and computer infrastructure providers, AI developers, critical infrastructure owners and operators, civil society, and the public sector.

It also evaluates these roles across five responsibility areas: securing environments, driving responsible model and system design, implementing data governance, ensuring safe and secure deployment, and monitoring performance and impact for critical infrastructure. Lastly, it provides technical and process recommendations to enhance the safety, security, and trustworthiness of AI systems deployed across the nation’s sixteen critical infrastructure sectors.

The article goes on to provide an in-depth review of the DHS framework, and notes that it the risk mitigation actions it recommends, if appropriately implemented, can reduce the likelihood and severity of consequences associated with each enumerated category of risks.