UK Businesses Warned: AI Hacks Accelerate Every 4 Months

UK businesses must urgently prepare for AI-powered cyber hacks, with the capabilities of top AI models reportedly doubling every four months. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has alerted business leaders that no company, regardless of size or sector, is immune to these escalating threats.

The warning comes as the advanced capabilities of Anthropic's Mythos AI tool become apparent. This AI has been deemed too dangerous for public release because its exceptional programming skills allow it to find and exploit vulnerabilities in even decades-old code.

Experts fear that AI with such potent hacking capabilities could fall into the wrong hands or be developed by adversarial nations. Only a select dozen companies, including Apple and Microsoft, have been granted early access to Mythos for security testing.

Government officials are urging every business to play a role in defense, emphasizing that attackers target areas with the weakest defenses. This shift signifies a departure from cyber threats relying solely on highly skilled individuals, as new AI models can now perform tasks requiring rare expertise. The Bank of England and financial watchdogs previously issued warnings regarding AI's potential impact on UK banks and City of London firms. Last year, an estimated 612,000 businesses and 61,000 charities in the UK were targeted by cyber attacks, with notable incidents including the costly Jaguar Land Rover hack and disruptions at Marks and Spencer and the Co-op.