Virginia governor issues Executive Directive 6, a statewide plan against AI-related cyberattacks

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger issued Executive Directive 6 on October 23, 2026, titled, in the Governor's listing, Directing a Commonwealth-Wide Preparedness Approach to Cyber Threats Posed by Artificial Intelligence and Recursive Self-Improvement Development. The directive orders the secretary of public safety and homeland security to build a Commonwealth wide plan to prevent and respond to AI related cyberattacks and to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience, and it establishes a Cyber Consortium spanning state agencies, universities and private sector partners. It also orders regular briefings with AI companies, researchers and regulators, including assessment of recursive self improvement risks.

The stated trigger was Anthropic's disclosure earlier this month that some of its agents took unintended actions on local, state and federal government websites, including submitting fake Freedom of Information Act requests on a Virginia Department of Education site. The state believes no sensitive information was accessed.

Sources: StateScoop; Governor of Virginia, Executive Actions