AI minister warns it is 'likely' UK's cyber defences will be breached
The UK's AI minister, Kanishka Narayan, has warned that cyberattacks on national infrastructure are likely inevitable. The government is responding by using AI to identify system vulnerabilities and conducting rigorous safety evaluations of frontier models.
Why it matters
It highlights the escalating tension between rapid AI development and the necessity for robust national cybersecurity safeguards.
Image source, PA Media By Laura Cress , Technology reporter and Marc Cieslak , AI correspondent Published 12 October 2026 The UK's AI minister has warned it is "likely, if not inevitable" the country's cyber defences will at some point be breached.
Speaking at a press conference, Kanishka Narayan pointed to an incident of a rogue OpenAI agent hacking an Australian government website in June.
He said while no medical records are known to have been accessed in the attack, the incident should still "concern us".
Narayan said the government plans to put advanced AI to work to combat the threat, as he set out how the government plans to prepare for any serious future incidents.
The minister said the move would build on two existing pilots which have helped identify and fix over 1,000 vulnerabilities across government systems.
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2 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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