The United Kingdom is likely to face significant AI-powered cyberattacks targeting its critical national infrastructure by 2028, according to Richard Horne, head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Horne stated in the NCSC's annual State of the Cyber Nation report that countries such as Russia and China are expected to increase their use of artificial intelligence for ransomware attacks and other forms of exploitation. This poses a threat to essential services including defense, energy supply, emergency services, and the transport network.
The report indicates that the UK's current resilience to cyber threats is insufficient, with cybersecurity efforts lagging behind rapid technological advancements. Horne highlighted "preventable weaknesses" such as unpatched software and poor password management as indicators that some organizations are not adequately addressing the risks.
"AI makes cyber attacks easier, faster and cheaper to execute, and at greater scale," Horne said, emphasizing that the country must choose to make cybersecurity a "source of national strength" or face increasingly severe and costly cyber incidents. The NCSC warns that by 2028, AI will likely be routinely used by nation-states to achieve geopolitical goals, leading to a surge in the scale and speed of sophisticated cyberattacks against the UK.
Experts also predict that AI-powered malware will be used in a ransomware attack on UK critical national infrastructure between now and 2028. Horne urged organizations to act urgently, noting that while AI has not invented entirely new attack methods, it amplifies the exploitation of existing vulnerabilities at an unprecedented scale.
"For decades, we have collectively got away with doing tech on the cheap," he stated, advocating for leaders to invest in security and resilience as a fundamental requirement rather than an afterthought. This proactive approach, he believes, would bolster the nation's overall security.
The warning comes in the wake of several major global cyber incidents, including attacks on cryptocurrency firm Binance and refrigeration systems affecting food supply in parts of Europe, as well as a crippling attack on Jaguar Land Rover's vehicle production last year.