Advanced artificial intelligence models are months away from causing catastrophic damage to businesses and governments, the Five Eyes intelligence agencies have warned.
The intelligence alliance from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and US said that critical systems running old and unsupported software are at critical risk to new AI models that will make it easier than ever for bad actors to carry out attacks.
In a joint statement released on Monday, the Five Eyes agencies said leaders must “act swiftly” to address the threat posed by these rapidly advancing AI systems.
“Frontier AI models are anticipated to exceed current industry expectations, fundamentally transforming both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. The timeline is not years, it is months,” the joint statement read.
“A whole-of-organisation and whole-of-society response is required. Cyber risk can no longer be treated as a purely technical issue. This is a core business risk and leadership responsibility.”
The intelligence agencies urged organisations and governments to strengthen their defences by integrating AI tools into their security operations.
Those who do not will face catastrophic consequences by exposing themselves to hackers and other malicious actors armed with new and more accessible ways to carry out cyber attacks.
The statement did not mention any specific AI models, though Anthropic’s most advanced systems have prompted recent warnings from cyber security professionals.
Earlier this month, the AI firm was forced to block access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for all customers following restrictions imposed by the US government.
“AI is about to dramatically accelerate the speed, scale, and sophistication of cyberattacks, lowering barriers for adversaries and giving them capabilities that were once limited to highly skilled actors,” Gary Barlet, public sector chief technology officer at cyber security firm Illumio, told The Independent.
“What worries me is that too many organisations still think they can patch their way out of this problem. We couldn’t keep up before AI, and we certainly won’t keep up after it.
“Attackers have always had the upper hand because they don’t operate under the same constraints as defenders, and that’s even more true in the age of AI. It’s time for organisations to stop treating a breach as a possibility and start treating it as an inevitability.”
