White House launching tech pilots, ‘Cyber Academy’ under new cyber strategy - Federal News Network

CYBERSECURITY White House launching tech pilots, ‘Cyber Academy’ under new cyber strategy The new national cyber strategy is light on details, but some implementation details are starting to come into focus, including a series of tech pilots. Justin Doubleday@jdoubledayWFED March 10, 2026 11:56 am           The Trump administration will organize a series of technology pilots across federal government and critical infrastructure to help drive its new national cyber strategy. White House National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross described the pilots and some other implementation details in a series of public appearances on Monday. The White House released the national cyber strategy late on Friday afternoon. Cairncross said the Office of the National Cyber Director would spearhead “a series of pilot programs” under the new strategy. “This goes to both the critical infrastructure side, but also the federal government, hardening the federal government side to make sure that we can deploy new technology much more quickly than we’ve done in the past, and so there is a cross-agency effort to really get after that,” Cairncross said during a midday webinar hosted by USTelecom.         Earn CPE credit: The latest webinar from the Billington CyberSecurity Cyber and AI Outlook Series will focus on the real-world risks facing AI deployments across the federal landscape. Register now! Cairncross said the administration will also launch “state-specific pilot programs” for critical infrastructure sectors. “We’ll do a program in water in Texas,” he said. “We’ll do a program in beef in South Dakota. We’ll do rural hospitals and making sure that we are finding solutions at a cost and an ability to scale that meet the moment and the threat. Outreach and communication with your partners in the federal government will be important.” During a late afternoon appearance at the Billington State and Local Cybersecurity Summit in downtown Washington, Cairncross gave more specific details on a pilot program that will involve information sharing between law enforcement and the private sector. “We’re looking for ways to streamline the information sharing from the [U.S. government] side,” Cairncross said. “Often how we know things is extremely sensitive, [but] what we know is less so. There is a way to figure out how to communicate that in a helpful, actionable way. And I think as we work through that on the interagency side and with partners on the state and local side, we will be able to achieve some effective results.” The overarching theme of the strategy is centered around taking more aggressive action to “impose consequences” on those who target U.S. networks and interests in cyberspace. The strategy will lean on the private sector to do more to defend against cyber threats. Cairncross said his office will be “gathering CEOs in these industries, across these sectors, to make sure that we make clear that industry has a role to play in this.” But at the same time, Cairncross emphasized the strategy’s emphasis on streamlining cyber regulations.         Sign up for our daily newsletter so you never miss a beat on all things federal “The President has been very clear with us that he expects engagement with the private sector that this is not a regulatory compliance exercise,” Cairncross said. “If you are whacked by a foreign adversary, the United States government should not turn around and hand you a compliance list and say it’s your fault because you didn’t do these things. We should be working together, because it’s the job of the USG to defend the country from foreign adversaries and transnational criminal organizations.” Cyber academy The cyber strategy’s workforce pillar, centered on building “talent and capacity,” is also driving the development of a new federal “cyber academy” and associated technology development initiatives, Cairncross revealed yesterday. “We are engaged in the process right now of developing a Cyber Academy – a nonprofit, not a brick and mortar – but taking the existing federal programs right now, creating a pipeline, lining them up so that they are in support of a patriotic cyber force,” Cairncross said. The academy will be paired with “a foundry and an accelerator that will bring in private capital, bring in venture capital, speed development, testing, utilization of the national labs, so that we can move ideas from concept into deployment, get them ready for market and scale them,” Cairncross added. Previous national cyber strategies have also focused on boosting federal cyber workforce development and training programs. Cairncross, in previous public remarks, has expressed admiration for Israel’s model of more closely bridging government service and resources with venture capital and technology startups. Cairncross also expressed support for a yearslong push to embrace skills-based hiring in cybersecurity, rather than relying on college degrees. “The president’s been very clear. He wants to work on the workforce piece of it,” Cairncross said. “He wants us to find solutions that don’t necessarily require a four-year degree. If we’ve got certificate programs, let’s find the talent and let’s get it to work. And so there are several components here that line up, and we are very excited to get them off the ground.” Copyright © 2026 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.           Justin Doubleday Justin Doubleday covers cybersecurity, homeland security and the intelligence community for Federal News Network. Follow @jdoubledayWFED Sign up for breaking news. 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