AI companies urged to work with government on national cyber defence

The government has called on leading AI companies to work with the government to build AI powered cyber defence capabilities.

Security minister Dan Jarvis has said that building AI cyber defence capabilities is a “generational endeavour” that will “test the absolute limits of our engineering and innovation”.

Jarvis invited organisations to sign a voluntary Cyber Resilience Pledge. Those signing must make cyber security a board-level responsibility; sign up to the National Cyber Security Centre’s free Early Warning service; and require the government-backed Cyber Essentials certification across their supply chains.

Security Minister, Dan Jarvis MBE, said: "Today I’m making a call to action for leading AI companies and UK innovators to work with the UK Government to build AI cyber defence capabilities. We’ve already made the UK a top destination for AI investment and want to take this work a step further in a generational endeavour to protect the UK from a new era of threats.

"This work sits alongside all the action we’re taking, through the National Cyber Action Plan, to work with businesses and strengthen cybersecurity across the country.” 

Cyber Security Minister Baroness Lloyd has already written to the CEOs and Chairs of over 180 of the UK’s leading businesses to encourage as many as possible to sign up to the Pledge ahead of a formal launch later this year."

Cyber Security Minister, Baroness Lloyd, said: "The cyber threat facing UK businesses is serious, growing and evolving fast. AI is giving attackers capabilities that would have seemed extraordinary just a year ago, and no organisation can afford to be complacent.

"Everyone has a role to play in bolstering Britain’s cyber defences. That’s why I have written to nearly two hundred business leaders across the country, calling on them to act by signing the new Cyber Resilience Pledge.

"The three actions we’re asking companies take are practical, achievable, and are proven to work - there is no good reason not to act. Cyber resilience isn’t just a technical issue; it’s a board responsibility, and we’re asking every boardroom in Britain to prove they treat it as one.”