Britain to face more cyberattacks as AI adoption grows, minister says
LONDON :The growth of AI will increase the number and sophistication of cyberattacks on Britain, senior minister Pat McFadden said on Wednesday.
British companies, public bodies and institutions have been hit by a wave of cyberattacks in the past few years, costing them tens of millions of pounds and often months of disruption.
Over the last three weeks British retailers Marks & Spencer, the Co-op Group and Harrods have all been hit by attacks, with M&S still unable to take online clothing orders.
The companies have not given any details on the nature of the attacks.
"Today we are declassifying an intelligence assessment that shows AI is going to increase not only the frequency but the intensity of cyberattacks in the coming years," said McFadden, who as cabinet office minister is responsible for UK cyber security.
"Our security systems will only remain secure if they keep pace with what our adversaries are doing," he said.
Speaking at the National Cyber Security Centre's CyberUK 2025 conference, he said that last year the NCSC received almost 2,000 reports of cyberattacks, with almost 90 deemed "significant" and 12 at "the very top end of severity". This was three times the number of severe attacks compared to the year before.
McFadden said the recent cyberattacks on British retailers should serve as a wake-up call for everyone, including government and the public sector, businesses and organisations.
"Cyber security isn't a luxury, it's an absolute necessity."
He said the government will later this year publish a new cyber security strategy, while new legislation, the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, will grant government new powers to direct regulated organisations to reinforce their cyber defences.
M&S and the Co-op are widely reported to have been the victims of ransomware attacks where criminals infiltrate companies' computer systems, encrypt them and demand payment before allowing them to resume control.
NCSC CEO Richard Horne told the conference he wanted to see a future where paying ransoms is no longer considered an option, where the business model for the attackers no longer works.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
North Korea hit by major internet outage, likely due to internal cause
SEOUL: North Korea's internet was hit by a major outage that lasted several hours on Saturday (Jun 7), knocking off connection to government web sites and official news services online and severing the reclusive country from cyberspace. It was not clear what caused the outage but it may have been internal rather than a cyberattack, as connections via China and Russia were affected, said researchers who monitor North Korea's internet and technology infrastructure. North Korea's main official news services, its Foreign Ministry, and the Air Koryo national airline were among websites inaccessible on Saturday, before they started coming back slowly around midday, according to checks by Reuters. North Korea's entire internet infrastructure was not showing up on systems that can monitor internet activities, and email services were also affected, Junade Ali, a United Kingdom-based researcher who monitors the North Korean internet, said earlier. "Hard to say if this is intentional or accidental - but seems like this is internal rather than an attack." Officials at South Korea's cyber terror response centre, a police division that monitors North Korea's cyber activities, could not be reached for comment. Martyn Williams, who specialises in North Korea's technology and infrastructure at the Washington-based Stimson Center, also said the cause appeared to be internal as the Chinese and Russian connections were not working. North Korea has one of the world's most strictly controlled internet systems, including access to any form of online communication. The general public has access only to an intranet set up by the government and that is not connected to the wider global network. An elite few in the government and leadership are allowed open internet access, and government and news websites often serve up propaganda for outside audiences. North Korea has in previous years experienced large internet outages suspected as being caused by cyberattacks. The country operates elite teams of hackers, including a group known as Lazarus run by the government intelligence apparatus, that are blamed for attacks against foreign institutions and companies and more recently for theft and the laundering of cryptocurrencies.
AsiaOne
5 hours ago
- AsiaOne
North Korea internet hit by a major outage, Asia News
SEOUL - North Korea's internet is experiencing a major outage on Saturday (June 7), said a UK-based researcher, adding that the cause may be may be internal rather than a cyberattack. North Korea's main news web sites and its Foreign Ministry internet site were inaccessible on Saturday morning, according to checks by Reuters. "A major outage is currently occurring on North Korea's internet - affecting all routes whether they come in via China or Russia," said Junade Ali, a UK-based researcher who monitors the North Korean internet. North Korea's entire internet infrastructure is not showing up on systems that can monitor internet activities, he said. "Hard to say if this is intentional or accidental - but seems like this is internal rather than an attack," he said. Officials at South Korea's Police cyber terror response centre which monitors North Korea's cyber activities could not be reached for comment. [[nid:718737]]
CNA
6 hours ago
- CNA
North Korea internet hit by a major outage, analyst says
SEOUL: North Korea's internet is experiencing a major outage on Saturday (Jun 7), said a UK-based researcher, adding that the cause may be may be internal rather than a cyberattack. North Korea's main news websites and its foreign ministry internet site were inaccessible on Saturday morning, according to checks by Reuters. "A major outage is currently occurring on North Korea's internet - affecting all routes whether they come in via China or Russia," said Junade Ali, a UK-based researcher who monitors the North Korean internet. North Korea's entire internet infrastructure is not showing up on systems that can monitor internet activities, he said. "Hard to say if this is intentional or accidental - but seems like this is internal rather than an attack," he said.
