VA Governor Spanberger issues directive to combat against AI cyber threats

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has issued Executive Directive 6, launching a commonwealth-wide defense plan against artificial intelligence cyber threats. The directive establishes a new Cyber Consortium to shield Virginia’s critical infrastructure from AI-driven hacks and biological risks. A primary target is “recursive self-improvement”—where advanced AI models autonomously upgrade themselves, rapidly compounding security dangers. Under the plan, Virginia will demand confidential risk reports from top tech firms, run quarterly intelligence briefings, and execute annual simulation exercises. The state is also deploying an independent security team to audit its own data networks. Governor Spanberger has invited other states to join the initiative on a bipartisan basis.