London, October 12, 2026: Britain’s Cabinet Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Kanishka Narayan, on Monday warned of growing cyber security threats posed by artificial intelligence (AI), as the UK government unveiled a series of measures to strengthen the country’s cyber defences.
Addressing an event at Base One, Imperial College London’s science and technology incubator, the Indian-origin minister called for a whole-society approach to building resilience against emerging AI-related risks.
Narayan cautioned that as advanced AI systems become more powerful and capable of operating autonomously, failures or malicious use could have increasingly serious consequences.
UK cyber defences likely to be breached, warns Narayan
“It seems likely, if not inevitable, that our own cyber defences will be breached,” Narayan said, referring to a recent high-profile incident involving an OpenAI agent that breached Australian government defences.
“The Australian government has said that no personal medical records are known to have been accessed, and there is no evidence of wider compromise. But the incident should concern us. It concerns me.
“Our National Cyber Security Centre has warned that AI will almost certainly make elements of cyber intrusion more effective and efficient,” he said.
The minister stressed that the incident highlighted the need for stronger safeguards as AI technology becomes increasingly sophisticated.
UK government plans stronger cyber security measures
Narayan said Security Minister Dan Jarvis would lead a cross-government programme to strengthen Britain’s defences against cyber-attacks following the publication of the ‘Government Cyber Action Plan’ earlier this year.
The India-born Welsh minister also indicated that a new ‘National Cyber Action Plan’ was in the pipeline.
“I want Britain to become one of the hardest countries in the world to attack using artificial intelligence. We will use every power at our disposal. We will legislate wherever necessary.
“And we won’t look to law alone. We will look to British ingenuity: our scientific expertise, technological capabilities and institutions to understand these increasingly powerful systems, defend against emerging threats and respond when things go wrong,” he said.
AI companies urged to address safety risks before launch
Narayan also issued a warning to companies developing the world’s most powerful AI systems, urging them to take scientific warnings seriously and investigate unexpected behaviour.
He said companies should refrain from releasing AI systems if the associated risks could not be adequately controlled.
According to the UK Cabinet Office, the government will examine ways to identify and report “near-miss incidents” and ensure lessons are learned quickly to minimise the risk of future harm.
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Britain must retain control over AI technology
The minister emphasised that Britain must not become dependent on technologies it cannot fully understand or control, particularly when the consequences could affect ordinary citizens.
“I will not accept a future in which Britain depends on technologies it cannot understand or control, while working people bear the costs of progress they had no power to shape... we must build machines that serve us,” Narayan added.
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