US government launches new bureau to track cyber threats

The U.S. government has launched a new Bureau of Emerging Threats under the Department of State to monitor and respond to emerging threats posed by cyber attacks and emerging technologies such as AI and quantum computing.

 

The new bureau will report to Thomas G. DiNanno, the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security whose primary role is to lead inter-agency policymaking in areas like nonproliferation, arms control, regional security and defence relations, and arms transfers and security assistance.

 

According to the Department of State, the Bureau of Emerging Threats is presently composed of three officials - Anny Vu, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service who recently served as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing; Jon Piechowski who previously served as Counsellor for Public Diplomacy at U.S. Embassy Madrid; and Mary Bischoping who previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asia for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

The State Department has not specifically outlined the mission and responsibilities of the new bureau, but a State department spokesperson said the bureau will respond to threats posed by adversaries in domains like cyber, space and disruptive technologies.

 

"The bureau will address not only the current threats we face today in cyberspace, outer space, critical infrastructure, and through the misuse of disruptive technology like AI and quantum, but those we will face in the decades ahead," said State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott as quoted by ABC News.

 

The publication reported that the Bureau of Emerging Threats will run five divisions, namely the Office of Cybersecurity, the Office of Critical Infrastructure Security, the Office of Disruptive Technology, the Office of Space Security and the Office of Threat Assessment. 

 

These divisions will closely monitor the activities of enemy countries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea in the cyber domain and their military use of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and space technologies.  

 

Newsweek reported that the Bureau will address both immediate dangers as well as long term risks posed by the adversarial use of these technologies. "U.S. adversaries develop and deploy advanced technologies in new and disruptive ways; [The Bureau] will anticipate and address these threats," a State Department spokesperson told the publication.