Proposed NIST Guidelines Seek to Upgrade Cybersecurity Amid AI Growth

As companies adopt AI tools at a faster pace, questions around security, risk, and governance have become more urgent. To address these concerns, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a preliminary draft of a new guidance document focused on AI and cyber risk management. 

The document, formally titled the Cybersecurity Framework Profile for Artificial Intelligence and identified as NISTIR 8596, is designed to help organizations apply the updated NIST Cybersecurity Framework, known as CSF 2.0, to the use of AI. Its goal is to support the secure and thoughtful integration of AI technologies while accounting for the unique security challenges they introduce. 

According to Barbara Cuthill, one of the document’s authors, organizations can no longer treat AI as a future concern. She noted that cybersecurity planning must reflect how quickly AI capabilities are advancing, regardless of whether an organization is just beginning to explore AI or already deploying it at scale. 

The draft is the result of a year-long collaboration between NIST specialists in AI and cybersecurity. During that period, over 6,500 participants joined a community of interest that provided feedback and input. NIST first shared a concept paper in February, followed by a public workshop in April and several community meetings over the summer. The newly released draft is now open for public comment until Jan. 30, 2026. 

At the core of the Cyber AI Profile are three major areas of focus. The first addresses how to protect AI systems, including identifying risks that emerge when AI is introduced into existing infrastructure and networks. 

The second looks at how AI can be used to strengthen cyber defense efforts while also acknowledging the operational and ethical challenges that can arise when relying on automated tools. The third focuses on defending against attacks that leverage AI, emphasizing the need for resilience as threat actors adopt more sophisticated techniques. 

The profile is intended to help organizations clarify their cybersecurity objectives related to AI and align them with CSF 2.0. It offers a structured way to examine AI-related risks and integrate AI considerations into broader security strategies. Similar profiles already exist for industries such as telecommunications, manufacturing, and finance. 

Public feedback on the draft will shape a more refined version, which is expected to include links to additional standards and tools aligned with the cybersecurity framework. After the comment period closes, NIST plans to prepare an initial public draft targeted for release next year. 

For companies like Datavault AI Inc. (NASDAQ: DVLT) that are at the forefront of developing AI integrations focused on their industries and verticals, the NIST guidelines could provide an additional way to assess their existing cybersecurity measures in light of the evolving AI landscape. 

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