UK AI minister warns AI cyber-attack on Britain 'likely, if not inevitable'

Dan Jarvis to lead UK programme strengthening cyber-defences against AI attacks

UK AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said an AI-driven cyber-attack like the OpenAI breach of Australia’s Medicare system is “likely, if not inevitable” in Britain, warning that the British government’s own cyber-defences would be bypassed by a technology that has developed highly sophisticated skills in cybersecurity. The minister spoke on Monday at a science and technology hub at Imperial College London.

Narayan pointed to an incident in June in which an OpenAI agent — a computer program acting autonomously — infiltrated Medicare, Australia’s universal healthcare system, while conducting what he described as a “benign” task: searching for information about public spending on medicines. The agent nonetheless went after data that was not authorised to have. “It concerns me,” Narayan said. “It seems likely, if not inevitable, that our own cyber defences will be breached.”

The Australian government has said no personal medical records are known to have been accessed in the June incident and there is no evidence of wider compromise, according to Narayan. “The Australian government has said that no personal medical records are known to have been accessed, and there is no evidence of wider compromise, but the incident should concern us,” he said.

Narayan said the security minister, Dan Jarvis, would lead a government programme to strengthen defences against cyber-attacks, including those originating from AI. The announcement came ahead of a parliamentary hearing on AI safety scheduled for Tuesday.

The Tuesday hearing will be conducted by the business, innovation, science and trade committee, which is expected to take evidence from senior figures at OpenAI and Anthropic, along with Henry de Zoete, the head of the UK’s AI Security Institute.

Narayan confirmed that the AI Security Institute would gain access to advanced AI models before they are released, after the White House had reportedly placed restrictions on their availability. “I can confirm that AI scientists at the AI Security Institute are now conducting rigorous evaluations of the latest generations of models, including [Google’s] Gemini, to identify risks early to test robust safeguards to help keep people safe,” he said.

The minister addressed leading AI companies directly, calling on them to heed internal safety warnings before deployment. “And to the companies developing the world’s most powerful AI systems, my message is: Listen when your scientists warn of severe dangers. Investigate unexpected behaviours. And if you can’t adequately control the risks, do not release the system,” he said. “I want the labs to be honest.”

Narayan said the UK would “play its part” in coordinating an international response to AI safety by making the technology a “central focus” of Britain’s G20 presidency next year. “We know that these challenges cannot be addressed by a single country alone, but by virtue of our capability, by virtue of the foundations of our trust, Britain will play its part,” he said.