On Tuesday, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warned that an AI‑powered cyberattack on the nation’s critical infrastructure could occur within the next two years, with China identified as the most likely actor, according to a Reuters report that also highlights ongoing cyber attempts by Russia and Iran.
Reuters reported that Richard Horne, chief executive of the NCSC, said the country had “done tech on the cheap” for decades, leaving organisations and supply chains vulnerable to exploitation at an unprecedented scale.
Horne said the NCSC’s annual report found it highly likely that by 2028 an AI‑powered ransomware attack could strike the UK’s critical national infrastructure, and that hostile actors were expected to increase the speed and scale of their operations.
He added that Russia was making sustained attempts to penetrate UK military networks and that Iran was conducting malicious cyber operations globally, including against the UK and individuals regarded as a threat.
Horne said: "We know that China highly likely has the intent and is best positioned to use AI for operations against our critical national infrastructure and other strategic targets with their activity representing the most sophisticated and sustained cyber challenge the UK faces."
In the NCSC’s own briefing, the agency emphasised that the vulnerability of long‑tolerated supply‑chain weaknesses had become exploitable at scale, urging organisations to take urgent action now to avoid the cascading effects of a major disruption, famously illustrated by recent supermarket hacking incidents across Europe.
While the NCSC website currently renders its briefing page unavailable, the agency’s press release confirms that it will deliver a speech later that day stressing the need for organisations to recognise warning signs and make the right choices before critical infrastructure fails.
Both outlets agree that the threat is real and imminent, with Reuters providing the global media angle and the NCSC supplying the technical and strategic details of the anticipated attack landscape.
