The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned that the incorporation of AI into critical national infrastructure is presenting an increased attack surface for adversaries.
It has also said there is an impending ‘digital divide’ between organisations that can keep pace with AI enabled threats and those that cannot, and that this will heighten the UK’s overall cyber risk.
It has highlighted the issues in a new report on the impact of AI on the cyber threat between now and 2027.
It warns that, by 2027, AI enabled tools are set to enhance threat actors’ ability to exploit known vulnerabilities. Whilst the time between the disclosure and exploitation has already shrunk to days, AI will almost certainly reduce this further, increasing the challenges for network defenders.
One of the key points is that there is a realistic possibility of critical systems becoming more vulnerable to advanced cyber attackers by 2027.
This means that an ability to keep pace with ‘frontier AI’ will almost certainly be crucial to cyber resilience over the next decade.
Decisive action needed
In response, NCSC urges organisations to act decisively to strengthen cyber resilience and mitigate against the threats.
Its director of operations, Paul Chichester, said: "We know AI is transforming the cyber threat landscape, expanding attack surfaces, increasing the volume of threats, and accelerating malicious capabilities.
"While these risks are real, AI also presents a powerful opportunity to enhance the UK’s resilience and drive growth, making it essential for organisations to act.
"Organisations should implement strong cyber security practices across AI systems and their dependencies and ensure up-to-date defences are in place."
NCSC said this should include using its Cyber Assessment Framework and 10 Steps to Cyber Security, and the recently published AI Cyber Security Code of Practice.
