MCP is an application-level protocol that provides a simple and agreed upon messaging pattern and transport format currently used by many AI-enabled systems for managing interactions between services. The guidance aims to reduce risk while supporting safe innovation in AI-augmented systems.

Real-world adoption of MCP has accelerated. It is increasingly found in AI deployments across products used in business, finance, legal, software development, and other industries, including for sensitive tasks like querying personally identifiable information.

While MCP simplifies the integration of diverse capabilities into powerful agent workflows, the current protocol specification requires careful and cautious implementation for security. Gaps in MCP design, implementation, and operational posture have created significant and evolving security concerns including serialization risks, trust boundaries, and agent misuse, to name a few, according to the CSI.

Although traditional cybersecurity principles such as authentication, authorization, and input validation remain necessary protective measures, agentic AI systems — especially those featuring MCP — introduce novel and systemic risks like dynamic tool invocation, implicit trust relationships, and context sharing. Established cyber defense strategies unfortunately do not adequately address these new risks.
These are not isolated problems that can be patched at the interface or endpoint level. Securing MCP systems requires treating the agentic environment as a continuum. Misaligned assumptions or subtle inconsistencies at any stage can propagate and compound into exploitable conditions.

This report examines these security concerns, outlines gaps that must be addressed before MCP can be used securely and confidently. It offers practical recommendations for organizations adopting MCP in high-stakes or production environments. The guidance is designed to remain relevant as the MCP protocol, implementations, and operations continue to evolve.

Adopters are advised to proceed with caution, drawing on lessons from prior distributed and plugin-based ecosystems while applying heightened scrutiny to MCP’s novel integration and automation patterns. Continued collaborative work among implementers, security researchers, and standards organizations will be essential to establish more robust and trustworthy foundations for AI infrastructure, particularly for national security and other high assurance environments.

Read the full report.

Source: NSA

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“Advancements in artificial intelligence are revolutionizing how mission objectives are achieved, enabling unprecedented levels of enterprise efficiency, precision, and scalability,” said Jill Bruning, Amentum chief technology officer. “With Sam’s unique expertise, he will strategically drive results-focused AI solutions that empower our customers to tackle their most complex challenges – ultimately advancing the world’s most critical missions.”

In this newly established role, Dr. Nazari’s focus spans both customer-facing AI solutions and internal operational automation. His priorities include aligning AI investments with mission-critical customer demand signals, and ensuring all AI deployments meet FedRAMP, CMMC, and client compliance standards.

Dr. Nazari has architected solutions ranging from AI-powered supply chain systems to state-of-the-art autonomous technologies supporting challenging defense environments and tactical operations.

Before the chief AI architect role, Dr. Nazari worked for Amentum leading key AI initiatives at DARPA. Prior to joining Amentum, he held roles at Scientific System Company, Inc. (SSCI) and Systems & Technology Research (STR), driving AI and machine learning (ML) advancements for the Department of Defense.

Source: Amentum

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DARPA is soliciting innovative proposals that leverage: abstraction of physics based reduced order modeling, AI-driven simulation with edge compute, advances in online model-predictive control and online dynamics learning, recurrence quantification analysis, simulation with live sensor data, and game theory / theory of behavior.

The DISCORD program aims to develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-native approach for rapid generation of tactical options from both live sensor data and high-fidelity simulation. The goal is to provide commanders with a portfolio of diverse strategies that can pivot dynamically in response to evolving conditions. DISCORD is designed to produce explainable outcomes that human operators and commanders can validate, fostering trust in AI-driven decision support.

DISCORD is intended to continuously adapt to changes in the operational environment, producing robust strategies that can pivot dynamically in response to evolving conditions. By discovering a wide range of superior and genuinely diverse strategies, rather than just a single optimized solution, the engine will help create true strategic flexibility. Importantly, this flexibility will afford commanders the power and freedom to exercise their own tactical judgment—born of hard-earned experience, training, and operational art—in ways that adversaries cannot poison, stymie, or accurately predict.

DISCORD is a 24-month program organized into two 12-month phases. DARPA anticipates selecting multiple performers. The DARPA DISCORD effort implements Ender’s Foundry, one of several warfighting Pace-Setting Projects (PSPs) established by the Department of War. Ender’s Foundry’s intent is to accelerate AI-enabled simulation capabilities to ensure the U.S. stays ahead of AI-enabled adversaries.

Review the DISCORD solicitation.

Source: SAM

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As CAIO, Brenton will accelerate the company’s transformation into an AI-first enterprise and continue to integrate AI into Tyto’s four main practice areas. The addition of AI into these technologies will provide defense, intelligence and civilian agencies and organizations with solutions and systems that are faster, smarter and meet mission needs.

“Our customers are focused on outcomes – what’s working, what’s delivering, and what’s moving the mission forward. And that’s exactly how we’re building,” said Brenton. “Across cyber, AI, quantum and software applications, the question we’re asking isn’t ‘what can we stand up’—it’s ‘what does the customer need to succeed, and how fast can we get it there.’ Tyto is building the technical depth and the proven, mission-focused solutions to answer that question every time.”

Brenton’s appointment reflects Tyto’s broader commitment to building an AI-forward enterprise capable of meeting the full spectrum of defense and intelligence missions. At a moment when the government is demanding more from its technology partners—greater speed, greater accountability and greater impact—Tyto is investing in the infrastructure and technical depth needed to ensure U.S. defense and intelligence agencies maintain the decisive edge.

“Cutter’s track record of building and scaling complex AI portfolios across the most demanding defense missions makes him the ideal leader to drive our AI strategy forward,” said Peter O’Donoghue, chief technology officer at Tyto Athene. “His appointment accelerates our vision of becoming the premier AI-enabled integrator for the federal market.”

Brenton brings more than 15 years of experience directing some of the most consequential defense data and AI programs, with a demonstrated record of converting emerging technology into mission-ready capabilities at scale. Most recently, he served as vice president of algorithmic warfare at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led a multi-hundred-million-dollar portfolio spanning multiple marquee DOW programs. His work addressed mission challenges across CJADC2, Joint Fires, Special Missions applications, cyber, autonomous systems, electronic warfare, readiness, logistics and IT modernization.

Source: Tyto Athene

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From real-time media monitoring to influence campaign planning, Peraton IRIS supports the full analytical lifecycle — transforming multi-source data into clear, actionable intelligence at the speed operations demand.

“Peraton has long understood that the information environment is not a secondary theater: it is a primary one. Peraton IRIS represents the convergence of artificial intelligence and real-time data integration,” said Tom Afferton, president of Peraton’s Cyber and Intelligence Sector. “Combined with deep operational expertise, Peraton IRIS is a single platform that empowers our analysts, planners, graphics illustrators, researchers, and most importantly, operators, to stay ahead of adversary narratives, counter their messaging at scale, and support mission success across every domain. In an era of cognitive warfare, speed and clarity of understanding are decisive advantages, and Peraton IRIS delivers both.”

As adversaries increasingly weaponize information to erode public trust, manipulate perceptions, and undermine democratic institutions, Peraton IRIS equips operators and mission planners with the tools needed to detect, understand, and counter these threats at machine speed. The platform brings together continuously updated data sources into a single, intuitive interface that supports real-time decision-making across the full spectrum of information operations, according to the company.

Peraton IRIS orchestrates five of the nation’s most powerful AI models — and layers on top of them the mission data, domain context, and analytical workflows that turn raw AI capability into actionable national security intelligence. Peraton IRIS is vendor-agnostic, data agnostic, and contract-agnostic. The LLMs are powerful engines. Peraton IRIS is the vehicle — with the mission map, the fuel, and the driver already built in.

Peraton IRIS is designed around the realities of today’s information environment, where cognitive warfare —the deliberate targeting of human perception, belief systems, and decision-making—has emerged as one of the most consequential domains of modern conflict. Nation-state adversaries and non-state actors alike are deploying sophisticated influence campaigns, disinformation networks, and narrative manipulation strategies to achieve strategic objectives without firing a single shot.

Peraton IRIS addresses this challenge by providing advanced semantic search, natural language querying, sentiment trend analysis, and AI-assisted narrative tracking — enabling teams to identify influence operations in near real-time, map adversary messaging strategies, and develop data-driven counter-narratives. The platform’s cognitive warfare module supports Psychological Operations (PSYOP) and Information Operations (IO) planning and target audience analysis, giving commanders and planners an unprecedented edge in the battle for the information domain, the company said.

“What Peraton IRIS does is fundamentally change the relationship between the user and the data. Instead of spending hours aggregating information from disparate sources, operators can now ask complex, multi-layered questions in natural language and receive synthesized, citation-backed answers in seconds,” said Cliff Bean, senior director of cognitive warfare. “That shift — from data management to genuine insight generation — is what makes Peraton IRIS a force multiplier for every mission it supports.”

Source: Peraton

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The agreement, a Production Other Transaction Authority (OTA) originally awarded in September 2025, provides any component across the entire Department of War with a streamlined, turn-key pathway to access Scale’s end-to-end AI capabilities – spanning data labeling, model development, generative AI platforms, and engineering services – across NIPR, SIPR, and JWICS networks.

The five-fold ceiling increase follows the rapid uptake of the agreement across the Department since its original award. DoW components have leveraged the vehicle to initiate Project Agreements spanning computer vision, generative AI decision-support, and data operations, reflecting a level of demand that exceeded the original ceiling. The expansion ensures the agreement can support the full breadth of the Department’s AI ambitions, aligning with the Department of War AI Strategy and its focus on building a robust data foundation and creating an agile, iterative pipeline for AI deployment at the tactical edge.

“As the era of small-scale AI pilots gives way to enterprise-wide deployment, the infrastructure decisions the Department makes known – which platforms to trust, which data operations to invest in, which partners to build for the long term – will shape the operational AI capabilities of the U.S. military for the decade ahead,” said Kathryn Harris, head of defense at Scale AI. “The expansion of Scale’s agreement with CDAO is a direct reflection of the trust we’ve earned and the accelerating demand across the force for capabilities such as Scale’s that work at the speed and security level the mission requires. Our platform is designed to help the Department operationalize its Responsible AI principles, ensuring that as we scale these capabilities, they remain reliable, auditable, and trusted by the warfighter. We’re proud to deepen this partnership and to serve as the Department’s long-term AI infrastructure partner.”

Source: Scale AI

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National security enterprise leaders are currently caught in a technical debt dilemma: a $100M+ trap where the mandate for AI dominance is clear, but the cost and operational downtime of “ripping and replacing” legacy software and data lakes is prohibitive. Helix solves this dilemma by allowing users to bring AI to the data and existing software, rather than demanding the data move to a proprietary cloud, enabling agencies to preserve 100% of their current IT ROI while gaining immediate agentic capability, at scale.

Helix works with existing software and hardware, and operates in classified environments as well as NIPR (Non-Secure Internet Protocol Router). It is at Technology Readiness Level 7 and is already deployed within intelligence organizations, where it is actively saving thousands of man-hours, reducing operational risk, and accelerating time to decision. Unlike rigid systems for others in the government software space, Helix adapts instantly. As a part of scalable data solutions, it accesses, analyzes, and acts on petabytes (PB) of information in seconds, not days or weeks. Tasks that once took a team a month can now be completed by an individual in hours.

“Trust is earned in denied environments, not in labs,” said Joe Logue, CEO of Two Six Technologies. “Helix is not aspirational R&D; it is a proven, reliable operational product already deployed at two government agencies in classified environments, where it supports critical national security missions today. It was designed from day one to meet the most rigorous security and compliance standards of the national security community. Two Six’s ‘blueprint’ is to combine first-hand mission expertise with cutting-edge technology and operational deployment at speeds no other providers can achieve. Helix is no exception.”

Early adopter IC and DoW partners chose Helix for its ability to retain control of their data in their own trusted environment with a model-agnostic, industry protocol standard foundation that integrates seamlessly across classified, legacy, and modern systems without forcing infrastructure changes or requiring them to convert to a proprietary ontology.

Helix acts as a “brain” or orchestrator that integrates directly into existing workflows. It allows a single user, in role-based logic, to task AI agents to engage with existing data, tools, and software applications in a fully secure and compliant environment. By accelerating decision cycles and eliminating manual data stitching, Helix empowers defense and intelligence teams to act faster and with greater confidence in high-stakes environments where failure is not an option, according to the company.

Source: Two Six Technologies

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This report is a comprehensive guide to understanding and mitigating the unique risks associated with the rise of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) within critical infrastructure, including the defense sector. The CSI highlights general security considerations for agentic AI, including the inherited risks of large language models (LLMs), increased attack surfaces, increased complexity, the evolving security landscape as the technology matures, and the need to address AI security as part of established cybersecurity paradigms.

Unlike traditional generative AI, which typically requires human validation, agentic AI systems are designed to operate autonomously, making them a powerful tool. This presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant cybersecurity challenges organizations must address to protect national security and critical infrastructure.

“Careful Adoption of Agentic AI Services” outlines risk spaces to consider, including:

•    Privilege Risks: Over-privileged agents can amplify the impact of a single compromise.
•    Design and Configuration Risks: Insecure design and provisioning can introduce vulnerabilities.
•    Behavior Risks: Goal misalignment, specification gaming, deceptive behavior, and emergent capabilities can lead to unexpected or undesirable outcomes.
•    Structural Risks: The interconnected nature of agentic systems increases the attack surface and complexity.
•    Accountability Risks: The opacity of agentic systems makes accountability hard to trace, complicating auditing and compliance.

Securing agentic AI systems requires proactive measures that address risks introduced by autonomy, interconnected components, and evolving capabilities. The report recommends deploying agentic AI incrementally, continuously assessing against evolving threat models, and maintaining strong governance, explicit accountability, rigorous monitoring, and human oversight which are essential for safe and secure operation.

Organizations that use agentic AI services, including those in the defense sector, are encouraged to review this guidance and adopt the outlined cybersecurity mitigations.

Other agencies co-sealing this CSI are the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre), the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ), and the United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK).

Read the full report here.

Source: NSA

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“This historic raise is a signal to every patriot in Silicon Valley,” said Colby Adcock, CEO and co-founder of Scout AI. “The most important frontier in AI is the physical world, and it should be pursued in service to the men and women who defend this country. Some AI companies are stepping back from defense. We’re stepping up, and we’re bringing on the best engineers in the world for the mission. Come build Fury and ensure American dominance in the age of robots.”

Scout AI is the premier frontier AI lab for war, distinct from defense primes and defense-tech neo-primes focused on manufacturing and integration. Its singular focus is the AI brain for unmanned warfare, translating commander intent into coordinated autonomous action across large, mixed fleets. Fury is built for the tactical edge, enabling layered orchestration from command and control to unmanned systems across air, land, sea, and space.

“Scout AI is exactly the company this moment demands,” said Tyrone Lee, partner at Draper Associates. “As uncrewed systems reshape the battlefield, advantage will go to whoever can orchestrate and command them most effectively.”

Scout AI has made significant progress since its founding 18 months ago. In its first year, the company booked $11 million in contracts with the Department of War, unveiled Ox, its C2-based autonomous vehicle orchestrator, and publicly demonstrated a fully autonomous, end-to-end strike mission executed by AI agents. It has also assembled a 34-person powerhouse team, with deep experience across AI, robotics, and national security.

Collin Otis, CTO and co-founder of Scout AI added, “The U.S. military has been promised true, one-to-many autonomy for years. Fury finally delivers it. We’re deploying this $100 million to massively scale our foundational military AI and multi-agent collaboration to extend Fury’s lead as the most capable AI foundation model for war. That compounding advantage is what makes this moment so important and why we’re moving as fast as we are. Our adversaries are sprinting and we must outpace them.”

The round also saw participation from Decisive Point, Booz Allen Ventures, BVVC, Neman Ventures, Evolution VC Partners, Heraclitus Capital Management, Sigmas Group, Disruptive Founders Fund, and Vaughn Capital Partners.

Source: Scout AI

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“We are proud to partner with Carahsoft to bring our comprehensive governance platform to the public sector,” said Theresa Schoppe, director of business development at 2Trust.AI. “Government agencies are under increasing pressure to innovate with AI while meeting rigorous security, transparency and compliance standards. By working with Carahsoft and its extensive reseller network, we can accelerate access to secure, mission-ready AI governance solutions that are purpose-built for the unique oversight and regulatory demands of federal, state and local agencies. This partnership enables us to support agencies in deploying AI with confidence—ensuring full visibility, auditability and alignment with evolving policies and mission objectives.”

2Trust.AI specializes in providing tailored AI governance solutions designed to help government agencies meet compliance and oversight requirements. These agencies often require customized AI oversight that cannot be purchased off the shelf. 2Trust.AI offers enterprise-grade AI monitoring with full audit trails and real-time interaction tracking. The company delivers advanced content filtering, custom training capabilities and comprehensive compliance tools that ensure adherence to evolving regulations, including the EU AI Act and U.S. State-specific AI laws. These capabilities can be deployed at the edge, on customer websites or accessed through 2Trust.AI’s secure cloud infrastructure.

With its advanced policy management and behavioral governance technology, 2Trust.AI enables agencies to maintain complete control over AI systems while maximizing their value. This key feature of the 2Trust.AI platform allows organizations to ensure AI outputs align with brand values and regulatory requirements in real-time. The application of this technology is essential for government agencies, but particularly useful for defense, intelligence, healthcare and law enforcement where AI security, data protection and ethical AI deployment are mission critical.

“We are pleased to add 2Trust.AI’s governance and compliance solutions to Carahsoft’s Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning portfolio,” said Michael Adams, program executive for AI solutions at Carahsoft. “Designed for agencies with stringent security and compliance needs, 2Trust.AI’s platform provides organizations with a powerful system to deploy AI safely and responsibly while maintaining complete oversight and control. Together with our reseller partners, we are providing streamlined access to solutions that ensure AI alignment with mission objectives and regulatory requirements.”

Source: Carahsoft

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