DCO Policy Watch – Tenth Edition

Sep 2026

Resilience at Machine Speed: National Cyber Defense in the Age of AI

Building on our previous analysis of the digital economy’s physical and operational foundations in the Ninth Edition, this edition turns to the operational core of national cyber defense: the institutions, and capabilities needed to counter AI-enabled threats, harness AI for defense, and prepare for the transition to quantum-resistant cryptography. It provides a practical blueprint for building resilience before the next intrusion.

Inside the report, you will find strategic analysis on the three foundational pillars for building national cyber resilience:

  1. Building the Foundations: The ten institutional building blocks every state needs in place before the next attack — from a published strategy and a designated authority to a reporting regime with a defined interval and a trained workforce — and why none of them substitutes for another.
  2. Defending Against an Attacker That May Not Be Human: An examination of how artificial intelligence is reshaping both sides of the offense-defense balance, from autonomous agents that can intrude for days without human direction to the ordinary controls — credential scoping, network segregation — that still decide outcomes.
  3. Getting Ready for Quantum: A practical guide to the post-quantum cryptographic migration already underway, why “harvest now, decrypt later” makes today’s inaction tomorrow’s exposure, and how to build cryptographic agility rather than a one-time fix.

The report also presents a three-stage roadmap for DCO Member States strengthen national cyber resilience through institutional readiness, advanced defensive capabilities, and international cooperation.

Key takeaways from the report:

  • Treat resilience as an institutional posture, not a one-time purchase.
  • Attach a defined interval to the reporting duty you already have, and build the receiving capacity behind it.
  • Keep a human reviewer in the loop.
  • Pool what no Member State can build alone, through the DCO, the AI Cyber Challenge model, and coordinated frontier AI governance.