WASHINGTON — Artificial intelligence has the potential to help the federal government make sense of an endless flood of data now overwhelming defense, intelligence and other agencies, according to a study by General Dynamics Information Technology.
GDIT, a division of General Dynamicsthis month released the results of its Defense Cyber Operations Survey, which was based on a survey of 200 government leaders working in areas of national security.
Some 41% of respondents found themselves “data-inundated”, with more than 30% saying they needed more skilled staff and more efficient analytics to handle it. More than a quarter already see the value of AI in cyber security, specifically for real-time threat detection and automated countermeasures. Human error was the most important issue, according to the study.
“Exists overwhelming amount of data. I think that challenge is getting worse as we go forward because the threat landscape is constantly growing,” Matthew McFadden, GDIT’s vice president for cyber, said in an interview. “One of the key findings is: How do we help cyber professionals work smarter, more efficiently? Artificial intelligence and automation is really a key way to do that.”
The potential applications of artificial intelligence, automation and other pattern recognition tools are increasing as the technologies mature and the public becomes aware of them. Their use for digital defense is gaining steam as hacking threats from small groups and global powers such as China and Russia evolve.
The Department of Defense and other federal civilian agencies consider artificial intelligence a tool quickly analyzes reams of information and to pass on useful knowledge, whether on the battlefield or in the provision of public services. Machines and programs can also handle menial tasks, freeing up a workforce that is already spread out and in demand.
The GDIT study notes that strong cyber defenses include reliable, well-defined capabilities and innovative technologies. Automation is a key part of the Pentagon’s push for zero trust, a new paradigm for cyber security. The approach assumes that networks are at risk, requiring constant authentication of users, devices and access.
“Artificial intelligence is technically delivering better results to the defender than the attacker right now,” said Matt Hayden, GDIT’s vice president of cyber, intelligence and homeland security. he told C4ISRNET. “When you see responses like this, it’s a recognition that all of these customers see now is the time to make sure they’re getting the most out of what they’ve already invested in and put their brands in the middle of the table to gain the advantage of this defender.”
The Pentagon has requested $1.8 billion for artificial intelligence in fiscal 2024. It manages more than 800 unclassified AI-related projects, the Associated Press reported.
While the military led spending on artificial intelligence, funding for similar projects at other agencies, notably NASA, has similarly increased from 2020 to 2022. according to analysis by Deltek. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ spending on artificial intelligence tripled over a two-year period, driven by machine learning and virtual reality obligations, the software and consulting firm said.
“We’re going to start to see that AI is not just in almost everything,” Hayden said, “but we’re going to have to start categorizing it in terms of how autonomous it is.”
Colin Demarest is a reporter at C4ISRNET, where he covers military networks, cyber and IT. Colin previously covered the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration—specifically Cold War liquidation and nuclear weapons development—for a daily newspaper in South Carolina. Colin is also an award winning photographer.
Molly Weisner is a staff reporter for the Federal Times, where she covers labor, policy and contracts related to the government workforce. She had previous stops at USA Today and McClatchy as a digital producer and worked at The New York Times as a copy editor. Molly majored in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.