The UK NCSC AI cyberattack warning was issued on Tuesday, when Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre said it is highly likely there will be a ransomware attack involving AI-powered malware on critical national infrastructure by 2028. NCSC chief executive Richard Horne, whose agency is part of intelligence service GCHQ, said far too many organisations had ‘got away with doing tech on the cheap’ for decades, leaving them vulnerable. In its annual report, the NCSC said hostile actors are expected to use artificial intelligence to increase the scale and efficiency of cyber operations over the same period. By 2028, it is highly likely China, Russia and other nation states will routinely use AI cyber tools to achieve geopolitical goals, according to the report’s summary. So far hackers use AI mainly for reconnaissance, tailored phishing and finding vulnerabilities, not to fully automate attacks, but that is changing.
China, Russia and Iran named
Mr Horne was due to say China highly likely has the intent and is best positioned to use AI against Britain’s critical infrastructure and other strategic targets, with its activity representing the most sophisticated and sustained cyber challenge the UK faces. Russia was described as making sustained attempts to penetrate UK military networks, while Iran was said to be carrying out malicious cyber operations globally, including against the UK and individuals seen as threats. Moscow, Beijing and Tehran have repeatedly denied similar accusations of malevolent cyber actions in the past, according to reports on the speech. The NCSC received 1,831 reports of attacks this year, 80 of them nationally significant, according to summaries of the annual review.
A warning after supermarket hacks
The warning follows hacking attacks on supermarkets across Europe that exposed vulnerabilities in IT systems, according to reports. It also follows an attributed Russian attack on Poland’s energy grid in December 2025, which, if successful, could have left 500,000 people without electricity during winter, according to the NCSC and EU member states cited in reports. Mr Horne warned business leaders who fail to invest in cybersecurity or update out-of-date technology will have to explain why ‘food isn’t on the shelves, lights aren’t on, businesses have gone under.’ His message, in essence, is that AI has not invented new ways to attack, but vulnerabilities tolerated for too long can now be discovered and exploited at a scale once unimaginable.
