Government issues open letter to business leaders outlining AI cyber threats

The government has sent an open letter to UK business leaders warning of the rapidly evolving cyber risks posed by advancements in AI systems. This follows the announcement that some new models have the potential to find vulnerable cyber defences at unprecedented speeds.

The letter coincides with a separate letter from Richard Horne, CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre in the Financial Times, who highlights the accelerating pace of change in cyber security and urges organisations to raise their security baselines.

Recent analysis from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology’s (DSIT) AI Security Institute (AISI) found that models such as Mythos has substantially more capabilities in cyber offence than any model they have previously tested. AISI’s latest report found that frontier model capabilities are doubling every 4 months, compared to every 8 months previously.

Government are recommending that businesses take the same steps to protect against AI-driven cyber attacks as they would for traditional cyber threats. These are:

Cyber security should be taken very seriously, even at the top of your organisations. Boards should use the Cyber Governance Code of Practice.

Businesses should use Cyber Essentials – the government-backed certification scheme to protect against the most common attacks.

Follow NCSC to receive their free, practical advice, training and guidance. The Early Warning service is a free to use and helps organisations consider the steps they should take before an incident escalates.

techUK reaction

The potential for AI to transform cyber security is not new. For many years, industry has anticipated the defensive benefits and the risks associated with increasingly capable AI models, and we’ve seen the steady development of standards and frameworks designed to reduce the harm businesses may face. What has changed is the speed and scale at which these vulnerabilities can now be identified. This has rightly caused concern in government, and it should be prompting equal concern for business leaders.

From conversations with members, it’s clear that the journey for frontier models is only just beginning. We are witnessing a new attack surface emerging and one that evolves as quickly as the models themselves. The shift has the potential to reshape how businesses think about and deploy cyber security standards. Crucially though, it’s something business leaders can no longer afford to treat as an abstract risk and could the development that forces the hand of business leaders when it comes to thinking about their operational resilience.

To find out more about what techUK is doing on AI security, please contact [email protected].

Cyber Resilience Programme activities

techUK brings together key players across the cyber security sector to promote leading-edge UK capabilities, build networks and grow the sector. techUK members have the opportunity to network, share ideas and collaborate, enabling the industry as a whole to address common challenges and opportunities together. Visit the programme page here.

This call for contributions invites insight on supply chain security, focusing on the risks, challenges and practical approaches organisations are taking to strengthen resilience. Submissions will help shape the campaign week, bringing together perspectives from across industry to share learning and highlight how technology can support more secure and trusted supply chains.

Share your views

Upcoming events

Latest news and insights

Learn more and get involved

Cyber Resilience updates

Sign-up to get the latest updates and opportunities from our Cyber Resilience programme.

Meet the team

Jill Broom

Head of Cyber Resilience, techUK

Jill leads the techUK Cyber Resilience programme, having originally joined techUK in October 2020 as a Programme Manager for the Cyber and Central Government programmes. She is responsible for managing techUK's work across the cyber security ecosystem, bringing industry together with key stakeholders across the public and private sectors. Jill also provides the industry secretariat for the Cyber Growth Partnership, the industry and government conduit for supporting the growth of the sector. A key focus of her work is to strengthen the public–private partnership across cyber to support further development of UK cyber security and resilience policy.

Before joining techUK, Jill worked as a Senior Caseworker for an MP, advocating for local communities, businesses and individuals, so she is particularly committed to techUK’s vision of harnessing the power of technology to improve people’s lives. Jill is also an experienced editorial professional and has delivered copyediting and writing services for public-body and SME clients as well as publishers.

Email:: [email protected]
Website:: www.techuk.org/
LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-broom-19aa824

Read lessmore

Annie Collings

Senior Programme Manager, Cyber Resilience, techUK

Annie is the Programme Manager for Cyber Resilience at techUK. She first joined as the Programme Manager for Cyber Security and Central Government in September 2023.

In her role, Annie supports the Cyber Security SME Forum, engaging regularly with key government and industry stakeholders to advance the growth and development of SMEs in the cyber sector. Annie also coordinates events, engages with policy makers and represents techUK at a number of cyber security events.

Before joining techUK, Annie was an Account Manager at a specialist healthcare agency, where she provided public affairs support to a wide range of medical technology clients. She also gained experience as an intern in both an MP’s constituency office and with the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed. Annie holds a degree in International Relations from Nottingham Trent University.

Email:: [email protected]
Twitter:: anniecollings24
LinkedIn:: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annie-collings-270150158/

Read lessmore

Olivia Staples

Junior Programme Manager - Cyber Resilience, techUK

Olivia Staples joined techUK in May 2025 as a Junior Programme Manager in the Cyber Resilience team.

She supports the programs mission to promote cyber resilience by engaging key commercial and government stakeholders to shape the cyber resilience policy towards increased security and industry growth. Olivia assists in member engagement, event facilitation and communications support.

Before joining techUK, Olivia gained experience in research, advocacy, and strategic communications across several international organisations. At the Munich Security Conference, she supported stakeholder engagement and contributed to strategic communications. She also worked closely with local and national government stakeholders in Spain and Italy, where she was involved in policy monitoring and advocacy for both public and private sector clients.

Olivia holds an MSc in Political Science (Comparative Politics and Conflict Studies) from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies from University College London (UCL).

Outside of tech, Olivia enjoys volunteering with local charities and learning Norwegian.

Email:: [email protected]

Read lessmore

Government issues open letter to business leaders outlining AI cyber threats

techUK reaction

Annie Collings

Cyber Resilience Programme activities

Call for contributions: techUK’s supply chain security campaign week

Upcoming events

Countering State Threats against UK & European Supply Chains and Critical National Infrastructure - sponsored webinar by Sayari

Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC): United States programme update – techUK webinar

techUK/DSIT: member briefing on the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill session 2

Latest news and insights

Government issues open letter to business leaders outlining AI cyber threats

The National Cyber Awards 2026: nominations open

Government responds to the Call for Views on Enterprise Connected Device Security

Learn more and get involved

Cyber Resilience updates

Here are the five reasons to join the Cyber Resilience programme

Join techUK groups

Become a techUK member

Meet the team

Jill Broom

Annie Collings

Olivia Staples

Building the Smarter State Conference