AI Cyberattacks Set to Surge as Industry Leaders Urge Urgent Action on Digital Defences

Cybersecurity leaders are calling for urgent and coordinated action to strengthen digital defences, warning that AI-enabled cyberattacks are expected to become more widespread and sophisticated as artificial intelligence systems continue to advance.

The warning comes as critical infrastructure and essential public services, including hospitals, water treatment facilities and internet infrastructure, face growing exposure to cyber threats. The proponents argue that organisations have a limited window to address longstanding security weaknesses before attackers gain greater capabilities from advanced AI.

The call for action highlights vulnerabilities that have accumulated across digital systems, including unpatched software, misconfigurations, excessive user permissions, weak authentication and outdated legacy infrastructure. It also points to chronic underinvestment in cybersecurity teams, particularly those responsible for protecting critical infrastructure.

AI, however, is being positioned as both a potential threat and a tool for defence. The proposal calls for wider access to cyber-capable AI that can help security teams identify vulnerabilities, accelerate fixes and perform core cybersecurity tasks more efficiently. Sharing defensive tools, threat intelligence and verified solutions could also allow organisations to benefit from fixes developed elsewhere.

The proposed approach calls for a collective response involving businesses, cybersecurity companies, technology providers, governments and leading AI companies. Rather than allowing individual organisations to tackle emerging threats independently, the initiative advocates stronger partnerships and greater cooperation to raise security standards and develop responses to new forms of attack.

Organisations are being urged to make cyber defence an immediate leadership priority, identify and address their highest-risk vulnerabilities and verify that security fixes work without disrupting essential services. They are also encouraged to strengthen access controls, adopt least-privilege principles and build greater resilience into the systems and AI-generated software they deploy.

Cybersecurity companies and technology partners are expected to support the effort by continuously testing defences against advanced cyber capabilities, integrating AI into existing security tools and making defensive technologies more accessible to operators of critical infrastructure. They are also encouraged to share threat intelligence, tested response plans and verified fixes.

Governments have been called upon to improve coordination across local, national and international cybersecurity networks, increase funding for cyber defence and prioritise essential services with limited resources. The proposal also calls for greater access to defensive AI capabilities for hospitals, water utilities and local governments, alongside stronger measures to deter and impose costs on cyber attackers.

Meanwhile, frontier AI companies are being urged to provide responsible access to their models, funding, training and technical support for organisations that lack sufficient cybersecurity resources. They are also expected to invest in security monitoring, authorised testing, traceable AI agent identities and the development and sharing of cybersecurity tools and best practices.

The initiative ultimately calls on industry and government leaders to use advances in AI to strengthen, rather than weaken, the security of the digital infrastructure on which societies depend. It advocates putting AI-powered defensive capabilities in the hands of cybersecurity teams, fixing critical vulnerabilities and sharing effective solutions to build stronger collective protection.