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TL;DR
Andreessen Horowitz published a proposal on Nov. 12, 2026, calling for coordinated, AI-supported cyber defenses for key operators in power, finance, water, communications and hospitals. It sets out proposed targets and a White House-led governance structure, but is not government policy and does not specify costs.
Andreessen Horowitz on Nov. 12, 2026, published a proposal by partner Anne Neuberger for a White House-led cyber defense effort targeting a limited group of operators and vendors across five critical sectors. The plan calls for measurable security targets and monthly reporting, but it is a proposal, not adopted U.S. policy.
The proposal, titled “Super Intelligence-Era Critical Infrastructure Cyber Defense Plan,” focuses on power, banking and payments, water, communications and hospitals. Rather than attempting to secure every organization equally, it prioritizes what a16z describes as a few hundred operators and shared vendors whose disruption could have effects beyond one company or community. Examples named in the plan include major transmission substations, payment systems, large-city water utilities, core telecom networks, 911 systems, trauma centers and health-record vendors.
For each sector, the proposal says participating CEOs would sign up to three outcomes: zero internet-exposed control systems, passing drills for manual operation within 72 hours, and containing critical vulnerabilities—by patching or another control—within a set period. The plan says the highest-priority targets should be contained within six months. Industry Information Sharing and Analysis Centers, or ISACs, would coordinate work and send anonymized sector-wide metrics each month; a sector falling behind would prompt a CEO-level review.
The proposed governance structure assigns the White House’s Super Intelligence Force responsibility for setting national targets, holding monthly reviews and clearing policy or funding obstacles. A council of two or three CEOs per sector would answer for results, with cloud and AI-lab executives participating as non-voting members. Existing lead agencies would remain involved, including the Energy Department for power, Treasury for banking, EPA for water, the FCC for communications and HHS for hospitals. The plan also proposes public-company board attestations that regulators could accept instead of duplicate audits.
The a16z plan in motion · schematic
From a CEO pledge to the President’s table
How the proposed cyber defense plan for power, banks, water, telecom and hospitals is meant to work, step by step. It is a proposal, not policy.
The chain, step by step
Each circle is one step of the plan; the ring marks the step being explained.
What happens at each step
- 1CEO pledgeA CEO council, with 2–3 CEOs per sector, commits each sector to national targets set by the White House’s SI Force.
- 2Three targets, signedZero internet-exposed control systems72-hour manual-operation drills passedCritical flaws contained within a set time
- 3DrillsTop targets prove they can run without IT for 72 hours. A joint cross-sector drill, modeled on GridEx, within 3-6 months.
- 4Monthly scorecardsSector ISACs report anonymized metrics to the SI Force. A sector behind target triggers a CEO-level review.
- 5President councilThe CEO council is publicly accountable for results and meets the President every six months.
Source: a16z, “Super Intelligence-Era Critical Infrastructure Cyber Defense Plan”, November 12, 2026, incl. its governance table (“For illustrative purposes only”). The chain is a schematic of the proposal, not an existing program.
Graphic: Powered by Thorsten Meyer AI
A Narrower Target for Cyber Defense
The plan’s central policy choice is to concentrate effort on high-impact operators and shared suppliers, rather than treating every organization as an equal priority. If adopted, that approach could focus limited security staff, funding and technical support on systems whose disruption might affect essential services across regions or sectors. The proposed sponsorship model would have large utilities, health systems, banks and carriers help smaller peers, including rural providers.
Its emphasis on deadlines and scorecards would also change how progress is tracked. Instead of relying only on information sharing or broad assurances, the proposal asks CEOs to sign measurable commitments and face reviews when sectors miss them. That could make responsibility more visible, though the source does not establish how targets would be enforced or how agencies would verify reported performance.
The plan links the urgency to AI-assisted cyber operations: a16z argues that AI may help defenders identify exposed systems, rank risks and generate fixes, while also shortening the time attackers need to exploit weaknesses. That is the proposal’s rationale, not evidence that the suggested tools will work equally well across older equipment and different sectors.
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From Government Cyber Work to a16z
Neuberger is a former government cyber and national security official. In the proposal, she says she worked on infrastructure security at the NSA and later as deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology. She is now a general partner and head of global affairs at a16z. The firm says she also outlined the plan in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.
The proposal is addressed to the White House’s Super Intelligence Force. President Donald Trump announced the task force on Oct. 4, 2026, and named National Intelligence Director Jay Clayton to lead it, according to NBC News. The administration’s stated remit includes engagement with critical infrastructure providers and superintelligence companies. The a16z document proposes that this force oversee the effort; that description does not mean the task force has accepted the plan.
a16z frames the threat as a race between finding vulnerabilities and exploiting them, arguing that AI could accelerate both offense and defense. It also says the country’s most significant infrastructure risks are concentrated among a relatively small number of operators and vendors. That concentration is the firm’s assessment and underpins its choice to prioritize selected organizations.
“AI is shrinking the time between when a weakness is found and when it is exploited. Defenders who still work at human speed will lose that race.”
— Anne Neuberger, a16z general partner and head of global affairs, in the proposal
The document does not name a budget, funding source or implementation schedule for the full effort. It also does not specify the legal authority the proposed White House force would use to set targets or require reporting, or how missed commitments would be enforced. The six-month deadline applies to the plan’s highest-priority targets, but the source does not provide a complete timeline for every sector or participating organization.
It remains unclear whether the administration or any sector has endorsed the proposal, whether companies would volunteer or be required to participate, and what safeguards would govern shared AI tools and vulnerability information. The source proposes seeking long-term reauthorization of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 and considering a safe harbor, but neither is presented as enacted. a16z invests in frontier AI labs and security companies, relevant context when evaluating a proposal that gives cloud and AI-lab executives non-voting roles; the source does not establish that those firms would receive contracts or other benefits.
Whether Washington Takes It Up
The immediate next step would be a decision by the White House and relevant agencies on whether to adopt, revise or reject the proposed framework. If officials pursue it, the plan points toward selecting priority operators, setting sector-specific targets and deciding how ISACs would collect and report monthly metrics. Those actions are proposed steps, not confirmed commitments.
Further details would also be needed on financing, legal protections, agency responsibilities and how the effort would coordinate with existing regulation and security programs. Until the administration or participating sectors announce decisions, the plan remains a private-sector policy proposal rather than an operating national program.
Key Questions
What did a16z propose?
a16z proposed a White House-led cyber defense effort focused on selected operators and shared vendors in five critical sectors, with signed security targets and monthly progress reporting.
Is the plan U.S. government policy?
No. The source presents it as an a16z proposal. It does not report that the White House or agencies have adopted it.
Which sectors would be covered?
The proposal names power, banking and payments, water, communications and hospitals.
What targets would companies sign?
The proposed targets are to eliminate internet-exposed control systems, pass 72-hour manual-operation drills and contain critical vulnerabilities within set periods. The plan says its highest-priority targets should be contained within six months.
How would companies be protected or funded?
The proposal asks for long-term reauthorization of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 and considers a possible safe harbor for companies meeting outcome-based targets. It does not specify program costs or funding, and no new legal protection is described as enacted.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
