WASHINGTON, D.C. –– This week, Members of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Select Committee on China participated in a bipartisan, closed-door, Member-level war game to examine AI-enabled cyber threats, critical infrastructure res…

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– This week, Members of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Select Committee on China participated in a bipartisan, closed-door, Member-level war game to examine AI-enabled cyber threats, critical infrastructure resilience, and the homeland security implications of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) obtaining Mythos-level artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), former chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, led Member participation in the exercise.

In the war game, a tailored AI agent trained on public information documenting both U.S. and PRC cyber strategies and academic research simulated coordinated cyberattacks against U.S. assets and critical infrastructure, prompting strategic responses from Members acting as U.S. officials and policy advisors to defend America in and out of cyberspace. Members examined how the targeting of freight rail, port terminals, transportation networks, and utilities, along with AI models trained on vulnerable data sets, could challenge our defensive posture and result in cascading impacts on the preparedness and resilience of the homeland.

“China is no longer months behind us in AI development; one of our greatest adversaries is quickly closing the gap. For years, China-backed threat actors have looked for any vulnerability to target our government and civilian networks and pre-position themselves in our critical infrastructure. Now advanced AI models have supercharged these capabilities,” Rep. McCaul said on the war game. “Following extensive briefings from the private sector on AI and its security implications, this war game was an important exercise for our Committees to consider cyber as a frontline domain of kinetic warfare. This is the time to gain a decisive American lead in the AI race and to use this powerful tool to proactively defend the systems that Americans rely on. The risks of falling behind are far too great.” 

Read coverage of the war game below:

NextGov: Lawmakers get taste of AI-enabled cyberattacks in China-Taiwan war game

“The scenario begins with China launching a massive military exercise around Taiwan in the summer of 2027, leaving U.S. officials unsure whether Beijing was being coercive, imposing a de facto blockade or preparing for a full invasion of the island, per a readout provided to reporters just before the simulation began. Beijing avoids using the term ‘blockade’ but the moves effectively quarantine Taiwan, the summary says. Lawmakers are then told that U.S. intelligence analysts suspect Chinese hackers had begun targeting ports, freight rail systems, airports and other transportation networks that could be used to move U.S. forces and supplies. Some of the attacks cause immediate disruptions, while others appear designed to preserve access that could be leveraged later. Participants also have to decide which networks to defend first, how closely to coordinate with private sector critical infrastructure operators and whether moving U.S. forces would deter China or further escalate the crisis. 

“Cyber ‘is always going to be a leader in any kinetic war,’ McCaul told participants before reporters were asked to leave the war game room so lawmakers and staff could participate more candidly. The exercise notably included a smattering of AI-related attacks involving stolen credentials and interference with logistics and routing systems. AI is also used in one attack scenario for a misinformation campaign, per the readout. The final scenario involved a prompt injection, in which attackers try to trick an AI system into following malicious instructions instead of its intended safeguards. ‘This committee has been briefed extensively on our latest AI capabilities, Anthropic in particular, the Mythos model, and the amount of destruction that Mythos can do if it’s in the wrong hands,” McCaul said, referring to the powerful cyber-focused AI model unveiled in early April. “And we know China is three to five months behind us. That’s not very long, in my judgment.’” 

InsideCybersecurity: House lawmakers weigh options to address AI-enabled cyber threats from China through wargame exercise

“McCaul discussed key takeaways following the exercise. McCaul told Inside Cybersecurity that the focus of the wargame exercise centered around China because they are the ‘number one adversary when it comes to cyber.’ ‘The model that CSIS developed is essentially like a trained AI agent of foreign power,’ McCaul said, going into one of the main points from the exercise, acknowledging that he is not sure if the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security are ‘fully utilizing’ how agents respond to decisions. McCaul also emphasized ‘the idea of a cyber weapon being a part of foreign military sales or foreign military financing’ as an area for further exploration. ‘Taiwan is ill-prepared for this fight, if it happens,’ he said. ‘They are ill-prepared militarily, but also from a cyber standpoint as well.’” 

BACKGROUND:

The House Committee on Homeland Security continues to engage with the private sector on AI through roundtables, briefings, and hearings on the future of cybersecurity and best practices for developing secure AI technology. In May, Anthropic provided Committee Members with one of the first live demonstrations of Mythos given to Congress, allowing Members to see firsthand how advanced AI can find software vulnerabilities. The demonstration reinforced the urgency of ensuring that federal agencies, including our civilian cyber defenders, can responsibly use advanced U.S. models to find and patch vulnerabilities. 

In April, Committee Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY) and House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) launched a joint investigation into the growing adoption of artificial intelligence models developed by the PRC. The investigation is examining how the PRC is working to close the AI innovation gap with leading U.S. frontier labs through model distillation, intellectual property theft, and other illicit means, as well as the potential cybersecurity, data security, and critical infrastructure risks associated with the deployment of PRC-developed AI systems in American products and services. As an initial step in the probe, the Chairmen sent letters to Anysphere and Airbnb.

Last month, the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection convened a hearing to examine how AI is transforming the cybersecurity landscape and reshaping the resilience of America’s critical infrastructure, as well as policy solutions to secure our networks, strengthen America’s domestic technology base, and ensure the United States maintains its leadership in emerging technologies.

The House Committee on Homeland Security also hosted a bipartisan, closed-door demonstration of “jailbroken” AI with presentations from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE). Their latest findings show a troubling trend: extremists are increasingly turning to “uncensored” or “unrestricted” AI models that remove built‑in safety guardrails. 

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