The UK is seeking help to establish a new AI security institute aimed at countering Russia and other adversaries in what it calls a “new AI arms race”.
The UK government has previously launched a number of funding initiatives to support cybersecurity projects, but the rise in AI-based state attacks is the driving force behind this latest effort. The Institute for AI Security Research (LASR) will initially receive £8.22m ($10.3m) of funding from the government itself, but it employs what it calls a “catalyst model”, with industry We hope that other organizations will contribute to this. pot.
In a statement prepared ahead of today's NATO Cyber Defense Conference in London, Prime Minister Pat McFadden of the Duchy of Lancaster said: “There is no question: the UK and the other countries in this room are monitoring Russia. ” “We know exactly what they are doing and are countering their attacks both in public and behind the scenes.”
The institute's ultimate mission is to “protect the UK and its allies from emerging threats”, and includes a range of organizations including the Foreign Office, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the Alan Turing Institute and AI. Includes partnerships with government departments. Safety Research Institute. Academic institutions such as Oxford University and Queen's University Belfast are also involved, but the government wants the institute to collaborate with “like-minded partners” including the so-called Five Eyes countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Australia). He says he will pursue it. UK and US) and NATO member states.
Russia in particular has been at the center of many recent cyberattacks, and Microsoft President Brad Smith last week urged President-elect Donald Trump to take a tougher stance on nation-states including Russia, China, and Iran. I urged him to take it. In fact, Microsoft has accused Russian government hackers of continuing to infiltrate its systems following a hack last year.
However, attackers can use AI to scale their efforts, such as adapting in real time to evade detection or exploit vulnerabilities more efficiently; It can also be used to counter attacks. This is also part of the purpose for which the UK's new Cyberlab was designed.
“Although AI has the potential to amplify existing cyber threats, it can also create better cyber defense tools, providing intelligence agencies with opportunities to collect, analyze and generate more useful information,” McFadden said. said.
Elsewhere, in July the UK government announced new cybersecurity and resilience legislation aimed at protecting public services following an increase in cyberattacks on critical services and infrastructure such as hospitals.