Britain's National Cyber Security Centre warned on November 3 that a ransomware attack using AI-powered malware against UK critical infrastructure is highly likely by 2028. The assessment accompanies its annual review and calls for urgent investment in security, according to the agency and Reuters.
NCSC chief Richard Horne said longstanding weaknesses could now be found and exploited on a much larger scale. Reuters reported his warning that years of underinvestment had left organisations and supply chains exposed. The NCSC is part of Britain's intelligence agency GCHQ.
The review says AI will mainly accelerate existing attack methods. Human operators are still expected to direct, check and adapt AI output, with skilled attackers gaining most. It also warns that faster discovery of software flaws will put pressure on defenders to install fixes before criminals exploit them.
Recent attacks on European supermarket refrigeration illustrate the physical consequences of insecure technology. Horne told AP that the UK was also affected. He said the French systems used outdated technology, default passwords and direct internet connections. Those incidents were not AI attacks, he stressed.
A separate section of the review presents a pessimistic scenario in which defensive improvements fail to match technological change. The NCSC explicitly says this is a possible future, not a prediction. It explores how wider access to advanced AI could increase attacks and make responsibility harder to establish.
The agency expects a growing gap between organisations able to adopt AI for defence and those held back by older systems and limited resources. According to AP, it urges basic measures including device updates, restricted administrator access and backups. Horne called for action to protect services and livelihoods.
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