NIST Cyber AI Profile (IR 8596)
Mapping CSF 2.0 to AI-specific risks across your organization
// What is NIST AI Profile?
NIST's Cyber AI Profile (IR 8596) maps the Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 to AI-specific risks. It was developed with input from over 6,500 contributors and released as an initial public draft in December 2025.
The profile organizes AI security into three domains: securing the AI systems you deploy, using AI to strengthen your defensive capabilities, and building resilience against AI-enabled attacks from adversaries. Each domain maps to existing CSF 2.0 functions and categories, which means organizations already tracking against CSF 2.0 can extend their programs to cover AI risk without starting from scratch.
For most mid-market organizations, this profile is the clearest path from "we know AI is a risk" to "here's exactly what to evaluate." It builds on the framework structure your compliance program probably already references and adds the AI-specific categories that CSF 2.0 alone doesn't cover.
// Inside the Regulation
The Cyber AI Profile organizes AI cybersecurity into three domains, each mapping to CSF 2.0 core functions. Organizations assess their AI risk posture across all three domains based on their specific AI deployment and threat profile.
Domain 1: Secure AI Systems
Securing the AI systems your organization deploys and operates. This domain addresses risks in your own AI tools, models, and integrations.
AI Asset Inventory
Identifying and cataloging all AI systems, models, and integrations across the organization -- including shadow AI adopted without IT approval.
AI Risk Assessment
Evaluating risks specific to deployed AI: data poisoning, prompt injection, model theft, training data exposure, and excessive agency.
AI Access Controls
Least privilege for AI systems and agents. Controlling what data AI can access, what actions agents can take, and what permissions models inherit.
AI Data Protection
Securing training data, RAG corpora, and data flowing to and from AI models -- including classification, encryption, and retention controls.
Domain 2: Defend with AI
Using AI to strengthen your organization's cybersecurity capabilities -- AI-powered detection, analysis, and response.
AI-Enhanced Detection
Deploying AI for threat detection, anomaly identification, and security monitoring while managing the risks of relying on AI-driven alerts.
AI-Assisted Response
Using AI for incident analysis, automated containment, and response prioritization -- with appropriate human oversight for critical decisions.
Validation and Testing
Ensuring AI-powered security tools function as intended through regular testing, adversarial validation, and performance monitoring.
Domain 3: Thwart AI-Enabled Attacks
Building resilience against adversaries who use AI to enhance their attacks -- AI-generated phishing, deepfakes, automated vulnerability discovery, and AI-orchestrated campaigns.
AI Threat Awareness
Understanding how attackers use AI: automated reconnaissance, AI-generated phishing, deepfake social engineering, and AI-assisted exploitation.
Adaptive Defenses
Updating detection and response capabilities to address AI-enhanced attack techniques that evade traditional security controls.
Workforce Preparedness
Training staff to recognize AI-enhanced threats -- particularly AI-generated phishing, deepfake audio/video, and sophisticated social engineering.
Note: The Cyber AI Profile uses CSF 2.0's Implementation Tiers (1-4) and Profile mechanism. Organizations develop a Current Profile describing their AI security posture and a Target Profile defining their objectives, using the gap between them to prioritize improvements. Because it maps directly to CSF 2.0, organizations already using the framework can extend their existing assessments.
// Who Must Comply
- 1 Federal contractors deploying or managing AI systems
- 2 Organizations already tracking against NIST CSF 2.0 that have adopted AI
- 3 Industries with AI in critical operations (healthcare, financial services, energy, transportation)
- 4 Companies seeking structured AI governance and risk management maturity
- 5 Any organization wanting a recognized framework for AI security assessment
// Key Requirements
AI Asset Inventory
Catalog all AI systems, models, agents, and integrations across your organization including shadow AI
AI Risk Assessment
Evaluate AI-specific risks including data poisoning, prompt injection, model theft, and excessive agency
AI Access Controls
Apply least privilege to AI systems controlling data access, agent permissions, and model capabilities
AI Monitoring
Monitor AI system behavior including model queries, agent actions, and data flows to detect anomalies
AI Incident Response
Extend incident response plans to cover AI-specific scenarios like model compromise, agent manipulation, and data extraction
AI Governance
Establish organizational governance for AI adoption, usage policies, and accountability at the enterprise level
// Enforcement & Penalties
The Cyber AI Profile is a voluntary framework with no direct enforcement mechanism -- the same model as NIST CSF 2.0. However, federal contracts increasingly require CSF alignment, and the AI Profile extends that expectation to AI-specific risks. Organizations using AI in regulated industries may face additional scrutiny from sector-specific regulators.
No direct regulatory fines (voluntary framework)
Examples:
- Federal contract requirements expanding to include AI security posture assessments
- Increased liability exposure if an AI-related breach occurs without documented risk management
- Regulatory attention from sector-specific agencies (HHS for healthcare AI, SEC for financial AI)
- Procurement requirements from enterprise customers expecting documented AI governance
// Cyber Insurance Impact
The insurance industry is beginning to add AI-specific questions to cyber policy applications. As AI-related claims increase, expect carriers to reference the Cyber AI Profile the same way they currently reference CSF 2.0 -- as evidence of mature risk management. Organizations that can demonstrate alignment with the profile's three domains will have an advantage during underwriting as carriers formalize their AI risk assessment criteria.
// How Breach Craft Helps
We help organizations achieve NIST AI Profile compliance through genuine security improvements, not checkbox exercises. Our services address the specific requirements and challenges of NIST AI Profile.
// Related Frameworks
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