DOD wants to integrate cyber in all operations, and integrate security into AI | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"Top defense officials warn that security cannot be an afterthought as the Pentagon moves to fully integrate cyber operations and advanced AI on the battlefield.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/pentagon-cyber-integration-ai-security\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DOD wants to integrate cyber in all operations, and integrate security into AI\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Top defense officials warn that security cannot be an afterthought as the Pentagon moves to fully integrate cyber operations and advanced AI on the battlefield.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/pentagon-cyber-integration-ai-security\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta 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ad--top ad--top-mobile\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"stickybar\" class=\"stickybar stickybar--newsletter js-stickybar\" readability=\"0.82\"> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"26.345454545455\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"35.366445916115\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/pentagon-cyber-integration-ai-security\/\"> <span>Government<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> Top Pentagon cyber policy official Katherine Sutton said recent conflicts have emphasized the importance of cyber, and that the department can\u2019t make old mistakes with AI security. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/89259\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> Left to right: Charleen Laughlin, deputy chief of space operations for cyber and data, U.S. Space Force; Brandon Pugh, principle cyber adviser, U.S. Army; Katherine Sutton, assistant secretary for cyber policy and principal cyber adviser, Defense Department; and John Sahlin, vice president of cyber solutions for GDIT. (photo by Isaac Latimer for EPNAC\/Scoop News Group) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"28.297872340426\"><body readability=\"59.08787541713\"><\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon is focusing on integrating cyber into all its operations, and wants to make sure it integrates security into artificial intelligence usage from the outset, the Defense Department\u2019s top cyber policy official said Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Recent conflicts have made clear how important cyber is, said Katherine Sutton, assistant secretary for cyber policy and principal cyber adviser at DOD \u2014 especially when it\u2019s paired with physical force.<\/p>\n<p>Defense officials have noted that there\u2019s been <a href=\"https:\/\/defensescoop.com\/2026\/03\/24\/cyber-workforce-military-hiring-training-retention\/\">a cultural shift<\/a> on the importance of cyber at the department since the war in Iran and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInformation is becoming more and more important on the battlefield, so having the ability to integrate space, cyber and other non-kinetic effects to be able to degrade that information advantage is something that\u2019s going to be critical and foundational to any future conflicts going forward,\u201d she said at the GDIT\u2019s Emerge: Battlespace of the Future conference, hosted by Scoop News Group. \u201cWe have to fully pull cyber out of its silo, which means not just integrating the effects, but starting the integration from day one with operational planning \u2026 and built in from the beginning, and not something that we strap on as we\u2019re going to execute.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Brandon Pugh, principal cyber adviser for the Army, backed up that message at the same conference, saying that cyber \u201cbeing considered in a silo is not where it\u2019s most effective,\u201d and is more effective \u201cwhen we see cyber blending in the kinetic operations while still being an option in its own right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given Pugh oversight of all defense critical infrastructure, both physical and cyber, which Pugh said emphasizes how the department sees the two linked. The Army <a href=\"https:\/\/defensescoop.com\/2026\/05\/21\/facing-growing-threats-army-hosts-defense-critical-infrastructure-summit-to-boost-installation-crisis-response\/\">brought agencies together<\/a> last month for an exercise to contemplate threat scenarios across domains.<\/p>\n<p>By the same token, security needs to be interlaced with artificial intelligence, Sutton said. It\u2019s a truism in the cybersecurity world that the internet wasn\u2019t built with security in mind. As advanced AI models grow in usage at the Defense Department, Sutton said the Pentagon can\u2019t make similar mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we adopt these new tools, we\u2019re also creating a new threat landscape for adversaries to attack us and to exploit these new capabilities, so we need to start thinking about how we\u2019re going to secure them,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of the challenges we have often had with tools is we adopt them, and security is an afterthought, or we realize that we didn\u2019t think about security from the front. I just don\u2019t think we have that luxury with AI going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> <\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"7.7216117216117\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Tim Starks\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-card__details\" readability=\"10.901098901099\">\n<h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Tim Starks<\/h4>\n<p> Tim Starks is senior reporter at CyberScoop. His previous stops include working at The Washington Post, POLITICO and Congressional Quarterly. An Evansville, Ind. native, he’s covered cybersecurity since 2003. Email Tim here: <a href=\"mailto:tim.starks@cyberscoop.com\">tim.starks@cyberscoop.com<\/a>. <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"popular-stories popular-stories--single-post\">\n<div 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{"id":8708,"date":"2026-06-02T12:11:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T17:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=89259"},"modified":"2026-06-02T12:11:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T17:11:25","slug":"dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/dod-wants-to-integrate-cyber-in-all-operations-and-integrate-security-into-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"DOD wants to integrate cyber in all operations, and integrate security into AI"},"content":{"rendered":"