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UK could face AI-powered cyberattacks on critical infrastructure within two years, security chief warns
Brief published November 4, 2026 ยท Original source published November 3, 2026
Original reporting by Ryan Hooper at dailymail.com.
Automated brief. Verify important details at the original source.
What happened
UK National Cyber Security Centre chief Richard Horne has warned that hostile state actors, specifically naming Russia and China, will very likely use AI to execute a major cyberattack on British critical infrastructure by 2028. Horne characterized the threat as AI-assisted ransomware attacks and system exploitation, with the two-year window framing this as an imminent operational risk rather than a distant concern. No specific mitigation measures or current incident disclosures were included in the supplied evidence.
Why it matters
AI-augmented attacks lower the skill threshold for adversaries and can accelerate the speed and scale of intrusions against power grids, water systems, and other critical targets. If the timeline holds, organizations running operational technology and critical systems have a narrow window to harden defenses before AI-powered attack tooling becomes more widely deployed by state-linked groups.
What to watch
Whether the UK government follows this warning with concrete defensive mandates or funding for critical infrastructure operators, and whether similar warnings emerge from allied cyber agencies in the coming months.