New Treasury initiative targets improved cyber risk management for AI tools

The Treasury Department said it will soon release resources developed by a public-private coalition focused on helping financial industry stakeholders strengthen cybersecurity and risk management of AI systems used across the U.S. financial system.

Throughout the rest of February, Treasury will publish a series of six resources developed by the Artificial Intelligence Executive Oversight Group, the department said in a Wednesday press release. The group was born out of the White House AI Action Plan released in July of last year. 

Senior executives from financial institutions, federal and state financial regulators and other key stakeholders were brought together through the partnership, which involved the Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee and the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council. The initiative has concluded, the department said.

“As this administration has made clear, it is imperative that the United States take the lead on developing innovative uses for artificial intelligence, and nowhere is that more important than in the financial sector,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a prepared statement. “This work demonstrates that government and industry can come together to support secure AI adoption that increases the resilience of our financial system.”

The department said it plans to release the deliverables from the working group in phases. The resources are meant to promote the confident and secure adoption of AI by financial institutions, which is part of a broader Trump administration goal to reduce regulatory friction and speed AI adoption across the economy.

The guidance comes as banks and other financial institutions are rapidly deploying artificial intelligence tools for fraud detection, customer service, trading and risk modeling. But those buildouts can introduce new cybersecurity vulnerabilities — as AI systems often rely on vast amounts of sensitive data and outside vendors — creating additional points of entry for hackers or opportunities to manipulate the outputs of automated decisions.

Instead of strict requirements, Treasury said the group’s workstreams will establish a base for AI use in the financial services sector that considers key areas like governance, data, transparency, fraud and digital identity.

Poor cyber-AI governance could expose financial firms to cyber intrusions, model manipulation or compliance failures that ripple across the broader financial system. 

Financial institutions are a favorite target of hackers. Nearly a million customers were affected in a breach of FinTech company Figure, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.