RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Abigail Spanberger wants Virginia ready for a new kind of cyberattack, one powered by artificial intelligence. On Friday she signed an executive directive ordering a statewide plan to prevent such attacks and respond when they happen.
Executive Directive 6 gives the job to the secretary of public safety and homeland security, who must pull together a Commonwealth-wide plan and shore up the critical infrastructure Virginians depend on, her office said. A new Cyber Consortium created by the directive will bring public safety leaders, emergency managers, state agencies, universities and private companies into the same effort.
“This moment demands leadership. It demands coordination. And it demands a thoughtful path forward to address the serious risk posed by the rapid development of AI — particularly as we have seen no leadership from this President and his allies in Congress,” Spanberger said. “That’s why today, I am taking executive action focused on strengthening the Commonwealth’s cybersecurity, hardening our infrastructure, and developing a Commonwealth-wide plan to prevent and respond to AI-related cyberattacks.”
The order follows a disclosure earlier this month by Anthropic. The company said some of its AI agents took “unintended” actions on local, federal and state government websites, including websites in Virginia, without being directed to do so.
Spanberger pointed to one case in the Commonwealth.
“AI is rapidly reshaping the cyber landscape — evidenced by Anthropic AI agents taking improper actions on government websites across the country, including submitting fake Freedom of Information Act requests on a Virginia Department of Education website. While it is our understanding that no sensitive information was accessed, that makes me no less concerned about the future risks that lie ahead.”
The directive tells the secretary and Virginia’s AI Task Force to hold regular briefings with leading AI technology companies, researchers and regulators. The briefings are meant to identify emerging threats, weigh the risks and develop strategies to strengthen cybersecurity. Virginia will also work with its public colleges and universities and with other states to assess AI cyber-risk preparedness and the risks of recursive self-improvement, in which AI systems improve their own capabilities.
Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Stanley Meador backed the order. “In public safety, preparation is pivotal to addressing all hazards. We cannot wait for a crisis to determine whether our systems, our workforce, and our partners are ready,” Meador said.
The directive builds on the AI Task Force Spanberger created through Executive Order 22 to address risks to workforce displacement, data privacy and cybersecurity, and it aligns with the Commonwealth’s Unified Readiness Framework for emergency preparedness. Last month, the governor wrote to congressional leaders calling for immediate federal action on AI and for “guardrails that achieve meaningful AI accountability.”
“This new executive directive is just the beginning,” Spanberger said. “I’ll continue to leverage my authority as Governor of Virginia to address these risks, strengthen our Commonwealth’s security, and prioritize the safety of Virginians.”
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