Cybercrime: Artificial Intelligence

As the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Security Minister set out in their letter to businesses on 15 April 2026, the cyber threat continues to change. A new generation of AI models are becoming increasingly capable at an increasing speed and scale not thought possible a year ago.

In May 2025, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) judged that cyber threat actors are almost certainly already using AI in their cyber operations. AI will almost certainly continue to make elements of cyber operations more effective and efficient, leading to an increase in frequency and intensity of cyber threats. The proliferation of AI-enabled cyber tools is thought to highly likely expand access to AI-enabled capabilities to an expanded range of cyber actors, including criminals. It is highly likely that criminal use of AI will therefore increase by 2027 as AI becomes more widely adopted in society.

The UK is not standing still in response to this threat. The government has built the AI Security Institute, the most advanced capability of any government in the world for understanding frontier AI systems. The NCSC is world-leading in defending the UK online and continues to publish practical guidance for industry and businesses to use. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament, will strengthen protections for critical services, and shortly the National Cyber Action Plan will be published, setting out the steps this government will take to ensure the UK’s national security against cyber threats.