OpenAI commits $1B in AI credits to frontline cyber defenders

OpenAI has pledged $1 billion in credits to support cyber defenders who lack the resources to protect critical infrastructure. The AI company announced the Daybreak for Frontline Defenders initiative, which offers subsidized credits to organizations like critical infrastructure firms, community banks, nonprofits, and open-source maintainers.

These defenders secure essential services like water systems, electrical utilities, and hospitals from ransomware attacks and other threats. OpenAI's president, Greg Brockman, expressed concern about the potential for critical infrastructure outages, stating they could become commonplace. The initiative also aims to train and support defenders in essential sectors, with OpenAI holding a meeting with over 40 utility companies to discuss cybersecurity.

A pilot program with the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) will provide training and hands-on assistance to state, local, tribal, and territorial cyber defenders, starting with water-system defenders. OpenAI's latest model, Astra, is being released with restricted cybersecurity capabilities due to its potential to exploit zero-day bugs.

Participants in OpenAI's Daybreak Blue and Daybreak Red programs will initially have access to less capable models, with Astra available to them at a later date.