MI5 tackling more state threats than during Cold War, warns intelligence chief

Share Save Add as preferred on Google Frank Gardner , Security correspondent, Thames House and Adam Goldsmith Watch: State threats and AI - Key takeaways from MI5 chief's speech MI5 is devoting more resource to countering state threats than during the Cold War, the head of the intelligence service has said.

Sir Ken McCallum said threats from foreign adversaries had quadrupled in the last decade, with Russia "aggressor number one" as well as increased Iran-linked aggression against Jewish sites and military bases.

At an annual speech in London, MI5's chief said Russia was waging hybrid warfare at a time when AI was "supercharging the cyber-security contest between attackers and defenders".

He also warned of rising threats from "extreme right-wing terrorism" and said MI5 had "caught terrorists seeking to exploit AI," including by integrating the technology with drones.