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1 [1] (February 3, 2026)

handle is hein.crs/govetns0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Agentic Artificial Intelligence and Cyberattacks Introduct Ion Agentic means autonomous, or independent. Agentic artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities are of increasing interest to the U.S. military and to Congress. According to an IBM definition, Agentic Al is an artificial intelligence system that can accomplish a specific goal with limited supervision. It consists of Al agents-machine learning models that mimic human decision-making to solve problems in real time.... Unlike traditional Al models, which operate within predefined constraints and require human intervention, agentic Al exhibits autonomy, goal- driven behavior and adaptability. For an explanation of Al- and machine learning-related terms, see CRS Infographic IG10077, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Taxonomy, by Laurie Harris and Nora Wells. According to the Department of Defense (DOD)-which is using a secondary Department of War designation under Executive Order 14347 dated September 5, 2025- Cybersecurity and Information Systems Information Analysis Center, there are no known official government guidance or policies yet specifically on agentic Al. Agentc cA and Defense Advanced militaries are exploring a number of potential defense applications for agentic Al. These applications might include Al agents performing autonomous decision-making (independently analyzing intelligence, suggesting tactical and strategic moves, carrying out battlefield tasks, etc.), initiating and conducting operations (especially in the digital realm) at a speed and scale beyond human capabilities, and executing rapid Al-agent- organized cyberattacks to include friendly and enemy cyberattacks that target the Al-agents themselves. Several components of DOD have been analyzing the military applications of agentic Al. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) DARPA is actively involved in developing and utilizing agentic Al for a variety of defense applications, including through its Al Cyber Challenge (AIxCC), the Artificial Intelligence Reinforcements (AIR) program, and Thunderforge. These programs endeavor to create autonomous systems that can perceive their environment, make decisions, and act with minimal human intervention. DARPA's AIxCC competition is focused on developing Al systems capable of autonomously identifying, exploiting, and patching software vulnerabilities at machine speed. The goal of the two-year challenge is to harden critical infrastructure by enabling proactive, autonomous cyber Updated February 3, 2026 defense. According to DARPA, the 2024-2025 challenge successfully demonstrated that Al agents can find and fix real-world, open-source vulnerabilities faster than human teams in some cases. The AIR program aims to develop dominant Al agents for live beyond-visual-range (BVR) air combat missions. This involves creating advanced modeling and simulation environments to train Al pilots (or robotic wingmen) to perform complex maneuvers and make autonomous decisions in high-stakes environments. Thunderforge is intended to integrate [Al] into military operational and theater-level planning, and fusing cutting- edge modeling and simulation tools. The initiative could serve as a decision-support tool, synthesizing information drawn from a variety of sensors and data streams, and proposing optimal courses of action to military planners. Defense nformation Analysis Centers (DODIAC) Established in 1946, the DODIAC is a research and analysis organization chartered by DOD. It helps researchers, engineers, scientists, and program managers use existing science and technical information (STI) to drive innovation across DOD with technical analysis and development of material solutions to advance DOD's warfighting capabilities. Specialized centers such as the Defense Systems Information and Analysis Center (DSIAC) and the Cybersecurity & Information Systems Information Analysis Center (CSIAC) collect, analyze, and disseminate STI in specific technical domains for DOD researchers. DSIAC has the task of seeking out and collecting STI generated from research paid for by DOD or the U.S. government and then uploading it to the Defense Technical Information Center's Research & Engineering Gateway in order to increase the body of knowledge available to DOD researchers and engineers. CSIAC published a study, Agentic Artificial Intelligence: Strategic Adoption in the U.S. Department of Defense, in June 2025, that provides an overview of DOD agentic Al use cases and cybersecurity concerns. Agentc Al and C brtak Some researchers point to agentic Al as creating new opportunities for attackers to find and exploit a backdoor, a hidden entry point into a computer system, network, or application that bypasses normal security, allowing unauthorized access for malicious purposes such data theft, system control, or surveillance. Once inside a network, attackers can imbed malicious code, create hidden accounts, or exploit system software vulnerabilities that give