The editor of Downcodes learned that the British government is highly concerned about the threat of AI-driven cyber attacks and has taken active measures to defend against it. Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duke of Lancaster in the United Kingdom, recently issued a warning that Russia and other countries are using artificial intelligence to enhance their cyber attack capabilities and attempt to destroy critical British infrastructure. To deal with this serious challenge, the British government will invest heavily in establishing an artificial intelligence security research laboratory and cooperate with the private sector to jointly combat increasingly complex cyber threats.
In order to deal with this emerging threat, the British government will invest 8.2 million pounds, jointly with the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and other agencies to establish the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence Security Research (LASR) in London. The lab will focus on protecting against advanced cyberattacks that could target critical infrastructure such as the power grid.
McFadden pointed out that the UK is currently engaged in a daily cyber war, in which attacks from Russia are particularly prominent. Over the past year, Russian hacking groups have significantly stepped up their attacks on the UK, while also targeting other NATO allies supporting Ukraine.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin more directly threatened many countries, including the United Kingdom, saying that Russia has the right to retaliate against countries that allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles to attack targets in Russia. Although experts believe that Russia is unlikely to launch conventional JS strikes against NATO members, cyberattacks using AI enhancements still pose a real threat.
According to McFadden, Russia has targeted British media, telecommunications, political and democratic institutions and energy infrastructure. Through cyberattacks, Russia could theoretically cut off power to millions of people and shut down the grid system. This threat is not groundless. Russian hackers had previously successfully invaded Ukraine's regional power grid in 2015 and 2016, causing brief power outages.
What is even more worrying is that according to US intelligence, North Korea has begun to apply artificial intelligence to develop more destructive hacking tools. McFadden believes that North Korea is just the first country to do so, and more countries may follow in the future.
To this end, the newly established LASR laboratory will cooperate with the private sector to jointly address these new cybersecurity threats. This move reflects the British government’s high priority on the threat of AI-driven cyberattacks and its forward-looking layout in the protection of critical infrastructure.
The British government's active response measures show that it attaches great importance to national security and also provides a reference for other countries in responding to AI-driven cyber attacks. In the future, the international community needs to strengthen cooperation to jointly respond to this emerging challenge.