An AI-driven cyber-attack comparable to the OpenAI breach of Australia’s healthcare system is “likely, if not inevitable” in the UK, according to UK AI minister Kanishka Narayan.
Narayan said he believed the British government’s own cyber defences would be bypassed by a technology that has developed highly sophisticated cybersecurity skills.
Speaking in a speech, he pointed to an incident in June in which an OpenAI agent — a computer program operating autonomously — infiltrated Medicare, Australia’s universal healthcare system. He said the same could happen in the UK.
“It concerns me,” Narayan said. “It seems likely, if not inevitable, that our own cyber defences will be breached.”
He described the agent’s task as “benign”, involving a search for information on public spending on medicines, but said it still pursued data it was not authorised to access.
“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,” he said.
Narayan was speaking at a science and technology hub at Imperial College London. He said security minister Dan Jarvis would lead a government programme to strengthen defences against cyber-attacks, including those originating from AI.
According to Narayan, the government will also consider using the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill as a route to introduce AI safety regulations, which could include a mandatory requirement to report AI safety incidents.
His remarks came ahead of a parliamentary hearing on AI safety on Tuesday. Senior figures from OpenAI and Anthropic are among those due to give evidence to MPs on the business, innovation, science and trade committee, alongside the head of the UK’s AI Security Institute, Henry de Zoete.
Narayan confirmed the institute would gain access to advanced AI models before their release, after the White House had reportedly placed restrictions on their availability.
“I can confirm that AI scientists at the AI Security Institute are now conducting rigorous evaluations of the latest generations of models, including [Google’s] Gemini … to identify risks early to test robust safeguards to help keep people safe,” he said.
The minister said leading AI companies must “listen” to warnings about safety risks posed by their technology, and refrain from releasing models if they carried a serious threat.
“And to the companies developing the world’s most powerful AI systems, my message is: listen when your scientists warn of severe dangers; investigate unexpected behaviours; and if you can’t adequately control the risks, do not release the system,” he said. “I want the labs to be honest.”
Narayan said the UK would “play its part” in coordinating an international response to AI safety by making the technology a “central focus” of Britain’s G20 presidency next year.
“We know that these challenges cannot be addressed by a single country alone, but by virtue of our capability, by virtue of the foundations of our trust, Britain will play its part,” he said.
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