Artificial intelligence is accelerating the threats facing Britain, with MI5 warning that criminals and terrorists could exploit the technology to develop biological weapons as the security risks of rapid innovation outpace traditional defences.
Sir Ken McCallum, Director General of MI5, delivered a stark assessment of the national security landscape, warning that AI is transforming the battle between those seeking to attack the UK and the agencies working to protect it.
“AI is already supercharging the cybersecurity contest between attackers and defenders,” he said.
In response, MI5 is establishing a new AI Threat Assessment Centre, a specialist team based within the security service that will examine both the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and the dangers created by its rapid development.
The warning highlights a growing dilemma for Britain’s security establishment, and at the same technology promising economic transformation and scientific progress could also lower barriers for hostile actors seeking to cause mass harm.
Officials are increasingly concerned that terrorists could exploit AI to acquire knowledge relevant to biological weapons or use information available through open sources to understand how biological agents and viruses might be released into the population.
The concern is not simply about the emergence of new technology, but the speed at which it is evolving — potentially giving hostile actors new capabilities before governments and intelligence agencies can fully understand or counter them.
McCallum’s assessment comes as MI5 confronts what it sees as an increasingly complex web of threats, ranging from hostile states and cyberattacks to terrorism and politically motivated violence at home.
Russia, Iran and China: a security burden beyond the Cold War
In a striking indication of the scale of the challenge, McCallum revealed that MI5 is now devoting more resources to state threats from Russia, Iran and China than it did during the Cold War.
“Over the last decade,” he said, “our State Threats caseload has quadrupled.”
Russia remains the principal state threat to Britain, with President Vladimir Putin accused of pursuing a campaign of “hybrid warfare” against the UK and its allies.
McCallum said Moscow was deploying tactics that “stop short – though sometimes not much short – of conventional conflict”, as the Kremlin “continues to lash out at the UK and its allies”.
He argued that Russia’s efforts to destabilise European countries had to be understood against the backdrop of its costly military campaign in Ukraine.
“It’s no accident,” he said, “Russian aggressors are trying to unsettle other European homelands at a time when their military progress in Ukraine is minimal and horrifically costly.”
His comments underline the breadth of the challenge confronting Britain: national security is no longer confined to the traditional battlefield, but increasingly involves covert operations, cyber activity and attempts to undermine public confidence.
McCallum declined to say whether Russia had directly interfered in the outcome of the 2016 Brexit referendum. He acknowledged evidence of Russian activity during the 2019 general election campaign, however, without offering further details.
The question remains politically sensitive amid a Westminster debate over Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s commitment to closer relations with the European Union.
Iranian operations raise alarm over Jewish communities and military sites
Iran was identified as another significant threat, with McCallum revealing that Iran-linked operations had led to more than 50 arrests in Britain over the past 12 months.
He expressed solidarity with British Jewish communities, which he said had been among the targets of Iranian aggression, including threats involving synagogues and other Jewish sites.
The security chief also highlighted concerns over potential threats to British military installations linked to Tehran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
He declined to discuss the details of an investigation into a direct threat to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, from where US bombers have conducted raids against Iran.
But his warning to those contemplating attacks was unequivocal.
“Those who seek to cause mayhem on British streets – whether hired thugs here or their paymasters overseas – will meet an unflinching response.”
On China, McCallum said MI5 remained focused on countering attempts by “various arms of the Chinese state to conduct espionage, coercion or democratic interference”.
Terrorism threat widens as extremists become younger
The threat from terrorism remains severe, leaving MI5 unable to ease its vigilance against plots inspired or directed by Al-Qaida and Islamic State.
McCallum cited the conviction in February of three Islamist extremists who had planned to use automatic weapons against Manchester’s Jewish community.
But he also warned that extreme right-wing terrorism was gaining momentum, fuelled by anti-immigration and anti-Muslim grievances and online radicalisation.
Plots targeting mosques and venues associated with immigration and asylum have added to concerns that political and social tensions can be exploited by violent extremists.
“Extreme Right Wing Terrorism,” McCallum said, “also continues to skew young, driven by the internet.”
In a particularly disturbing example, MI5 recently investigated a 13-year-old child in connection with an extreme right-wing plot.
The case illustrates the challenge facing security agencies as radicalisation reaches younger people and extremist material spreads through online networks.
The race to keep pace with technological change
McCallum said he was worried about the speed at which threats were multiplying across such a broad spectrum.
AI presents a particularly difficult challenge because its potential benefits are accompanied by risks that can evolve rapidly, requiring intelligence agencies to adapt their methods and expertise.
The new assessment centre is intended to help MI5 understand those risks while identifying how emerging technology can strengthen, rather than weaken, national security.
For policymakers, the stakes extend beyond intelligence operations. The prospect of AI being exploited by hostile states, cybercriminals or terrorists raises urgent questions about how quickly Britain can develop effective safeguards without undermining the technology’s legitimate uses.
McCallum urged members of the public to remain alert and report concerns, arguing that national resilience cannot rest solely on the shoulders of intelligence professionals.
“My message to the British public is this: you have a stake in our national resilience. You too have a vital role to play.”
His assessment paints a picture of a security service under pressure from several directions at once — and increasingly concerned that technological change could give its adversaries new ways to exploit Britain’s vulnerabilities.
Leave a Comment