The head of the UK's domestic intelligence warned that artificial intelligence may increase risks from biological weapons and cyberattacks, revealing suspicions that AI is being used to enhance surveillance and attacks.
Ken McCallum, Director General of the UK's domestic intelligence agency MI5, warned on 13 Oct that artificial intelligence technology is affecting the UK's security risks and could alter the severity of existing biological weapon threats as well as new forms in the future.
McCallum said during the annual threat assessment briefing at MI5 headquarters that AI is currently enhancing the capabilities of both attackers and defenders in the cybersecurity arena. He cautioned that humanity has never faced opponents potentially smarter and more capable of outthinking humans, representing a truly new kind of challenge.
The MI5 director also revealed that the agency established an AI Threat Assessment Centre at its headquarters this year to consolidate expertise from various agencies and evaluate AI risks, distinguishing between exaggerated claims and real threats.
Additionally, MI5 has detected some suspects using AI to improve surveillance and attack planning, including operating drones powered by AI technology.
McCallum said MI5 is allocating resources to combat foreign state threats at their highest level since the Cold War, with cases related to state threats increasing fourfold over the past decade. He noted that Russia remains the UK's number one threat.
He warned that the Russian military and intelligence services are intensifying hybrid warfare efforts, involving various operations beyond direct combat. However, he observed that in the four years since Russia began its war in Ukraine in 2022, Moscow's global operational tools have become more limited, leading it to rely on hiring criminals or recruiting unaware individuals to participate.
Iran is also attempting to expand its hybrid warfare operations; over the past 12 months, more than 50 suspects linked to Iran have been arrested in related operations.
Earlier, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Parliament on Monday that recent suspicious incidents at Fairford Air Base in southwest England, used by the US military, are highly likely to have been coordinated by Iran.
McCallum emphasized that those attempting to cause unrest on UK streets, whether domestic perpetrators or foreign-backed, will face decisive countermeasures.
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