The National Security Agency (NSA) has introduced a new AI-driven tool designed to assist vendors in the intelligence community with testing their cyber defenses, according to General Timothy Haugh, leader of the NSA and Cyber Command, the Defense One reported.

This Autonomous Penetration Testing (APT) platform will be made available through the agency’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, which shares threat information related to American infrastructure and other critical targets, Haugh revealed last week at an Intelligence and National Security Alliance dinner.

“It will enable the [defense industry] customers to more quickly broaden penetration tests of their internal assets, identify issues, implement mitigations, and confirm effective closure of any identifiable vulnerabilities,” Haugh said.

It aims to automate much of the labor-intensive work involved in identifying vulnerabilities and assessing the strength of cyber defenses.

Earlier this year, working alongside the Artificial Intelligence Security Center and both domestic and international allies, NSA unveiled fresh directives concerning the establishment of secure and robust artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

The NSA disclosed in the Cybersecurity Information Sheet (CSI) that the objective of the document is to assist organizations in effectively adopting and managing AI technologies created by third parties, while also integrating measures to address security risks associated with such systems.

“AI brings unprecedented opportunity, but also can present opportunities for malicious activity. NSA is uniquely positioned to provide cybersecurity guidance, AI expertise, and advanced threat analysis,” says NSA Cybersecurity Director Dave Luber.