UK Says AI-Powered Ransomware Attack on Critical Infrastructure 'Highly Likely' by 2028
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre has warned that critical infrastructure should prepare for AI-powered ransomware attacks by 2028.
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a stark warning that critical national infrastructure should brace for ransomware attacks involving AI-powered malware by 2028. The agency, part of GCHQ, the UK's signals intelligence service, said hostile actors' use of AI is "highly likely" to increase the scale and efficiency of cyber operations within the next two years.
Vulnerabilities Exploited
The threat stems not from new attack techniques but from old weaknesses that AI can now discover and exploit at an unprecedented scale, according to NCSC chief executive Richard Horne. "In the coming months, we face a real prospect of an unprecedented rise in the number of cyber incidents," Horne warned.
But we must be clear that is not because AI has invented new ways to attack us. But because vulnerabilities that have been tolerated for far too long can now be discovered and exploited at a scale that was once unimaginable.
Government Response
Horne criticized the practice of "tech on the cheap" and urged organizations to invest properly in their technology, stop connecting systems to the internet unnecessarily, and treat the government's Cyber Essentials certification as just the starting point for security. The UK government has responded by allocating £60 million for a national Cyber Shield and £70 million for a new National Exposure and Real-time Vulnerability Centre.
Growing Evidence
The warning follows evidence that attackers are already using AI in cyber operations. Google's Threat Intelligence Group confirmed cybercriminals had used AI to find and weaponize an unknown flaw bypassing two-factor authentication. However, a Cambridge University study found most criminals are using AI for spam and phishing rather than sophisticated attacks.
UK officials have previously sounded the alarm about AI threats. In July, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper warned that governments must agree on AI safeguards before frontier systems transform warfare and crime, stating: "We cannot afford to wait for an AI equivalent of Hiroshima before we act."
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