Governor Gavin Newsom announced a first-in-the-nation AI Cyber Defense Program today to protect California's critical infrastructure from artificial intelligence-enabled cyberattacks, directing state agencies to establish new defenses as federal support for cybersecurity programs faces cuts.
The program, run through the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC), will use AI for vulnerability detection, network hardening, and incident response. The governor also ordered every state agency to designate an AI Cybersecurity Officer and expand access to advanced cybersecurity tools for local governments and critical infrastructure partners.
"The digital environment is rapidly evolving before our eyes. Attacks are faster, more sophisticated, and more frequent, putting at risk the basic systems families count on," Newsom said. "California can either wait for the next crisis, or we can build the kind of defenses this moment demands. We are choosing to build."
The announcement follows recent disclosures from leading AI developers that advanced AI systems demonstrated the ability to independently carry out sophisticated cyber operations during controlled testing. Adversaries are already using increasingly capable AI systems to conduct cheaper, more effective attacks.
Why California is acting now
Federal officials recently warned that municipal water systems in Minnesota were targeted in a suspected Iran-linked cyber operation affecting more than 30 utilities, showing that basic services remain in the sights of foreign adversaries. At the same time, the Trump administration's Fiscal Year 2027 proposal would cut the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency by roughly $707 million, about 30% from earlier funding levels.
A key resource for state and local governments has already vanished: federal funding for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center ended in late 2025, ending around-the-clock monitoring and threat intelligence that thousands of jurisdictions received at no direct cost. Those services are now paid models, squeezing smaller agencies with limited budgets.
The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, created with a $1 billion appropriation under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is nearing the end of its current funding phase. Congress is considering bipartisan legislation to reauthorize it, but long-term funding remains uncertain.
What the AI Cyber Defense Program includes
The governor's directive instructs three agencies to take action. First, the California Cybersecurity Integration Center will build an AI-focused defense program. Second, access to AI-enabled cybersecurity defenses will expand for local governments and critical infrastructure operators such as water, power, transportation and emergency communications providers. Third, each state agency must name an AI Cybersecurity Officer.
"Artificial intelligence is transforming both the opportunities and the risks in government cybersecurity," said Government Operations Agency Secretary Nick Maduros. "California is taking a proactive approach-harnessing AI to strengthen our defenses while preparing for the emerging threats these technologies can create."
The new initiative builds on two previous executive orders from Newsom in 2023 and 2026 that established California's overall framework for AI use. Recent steps include SB 53, the 2025 Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act requiring large AI developers to disclose safety frameworks and report serious incidents to the state, and the release of Cal-Secure 2.0, the updated statewide cybersecurity roadmap that calls for increased use of AI-enabled tools.
For cybersecurity professionals in government agencies, the practical effect is that California is creating dedicated AI-focused roles and centralizing defense tools at the state level. Government workers whose job titles include security, information technology or emergency services should expect to see agency-level AI cybersecurity officer positions open and, at smaller jurisdictions, paid security monitoring services replace previously free federal resources. The state's AI Learning Path for Cybersecurity Analysts offers a targeted entry point that maps directly to these new roles and expectations.
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