Tech heavyweights including Microsoft, Google, IBM, Intel, Nvidia and PayPal have become premier sponsors for the Aspen Security Forum's new Coalition for Secure AI (CoSAI), an open-source initiative hosted by the global standards body, OASIS.

CoSAI's scope includes securely building, integrating, deploying, and operating AI systems, focusing on mitigating risks such as model theft, data poisoning, prompt injection, scaled abuse, and inference attacks. The project aims to develop comprehensive security measures that address AI systems' classical and unique risks. CoSAI is an open-source community led by a Project Governing Board, which advances and manages its overall technical agenda, and a Technical Steering Committee of AI experts from academia and industry who will oversee its workstreams.

The initiative is backed by a formidable list of Premier Sponsors, including Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and PayPal. Additional funding sponsors include Amazon, Anthropic, Cisco, Chainguard, Cohere, GenLab, OpenAI, and Wiz.

"CoSAI's establishment was rooted in the necessity of democratising the knowledge and advancements essential for the secure integration and deployment of AI," said David LaBianca, Google's CoSAI Governing Board co-chair.

CoSAI will initially form three workstreams: Software supply chain security for AI systems, Preparing defenders for a changing cybersecurity landscape, and AI security governance.

Omar Santos, Cisco's CoSAI Governing Board co-chair, added it's committed to collaborating with organisations at the forefront of responsible and secure AI technology.

"Our goal is to eliminate redundancy and amplify our collective impact through key partnerships that focus on critical topics," he said. "At CoSAI, we will harness our combined expertise and resources to fast-track the development of robust AI security standards and practices that will benefit the entire industry."

The initiative is open for everyone to contribute technically as part of the open-source community.

"At Amazon, our top priority is safeguarding the security and confidentiality of customer data. As a sponsor of CoSAI, we're excited to collaborate with the industry on developing needed standards and practices that will strengthen AI security for everyone," said Paul Vixie, VP/Distinguished Engineer and Deputy CISO, Amazon Web Services.

Similarly, Anthropic Chief Information Security Officer, Jason Clinton, said it's working to be a safety-focused organisation.

"Building and deploying secure AI models has been core to our mission from the start. We're proud to partner with other industry leaders to help foster a secure AI ecosystem and collaborate on a set of technical security best practices and standards," he said.