Systems Facing Increased Risk of AI-Enhanced Cyber Attacks, Warns NCSC

The window between discovering and exploiting a vulnerability has already narrowed to just days, and AI is expected to shorten it even further, experts said.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden delivers a keynote speech to the CyberUK conference at the Central Convention Complex in Manchester, England, on May 7, 2025. Ryan Jenkinson/PA Wire

By 2027, artificial intelligence tools will significantly increase the ability of malicious actors to find and exploit vulnerabilities in our systems, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned.

The NCSC, which is the UK’s technical authority for cyber security and part of the GCHQ intelligence agency, said in its report published on Wednesday that AI will “almost certainly” continue to make cyber intrusion more effective and efficient, “leading to an increase in frequency and intensity of cyber threats.”