Artificial intelligence is poised to supercharge cyberattacks against governments, critical infrastructure and major corporations within months, the intelligence agencies of the Five Eyes alliance warned Monday in a rare joint statement urging business leaders to prepare now.
The cyber chiefs of the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand said frontier AI systems are advancing so rapidly that long-standing assumptions about digital threats could soon become obsolete.
“Frontier AI models are anticipated to exceed current industry expectations, fundamentally transforming both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities,” the spy bosses wrote.
“The timeline is not years, it is months.”
Recent weeks have seen warnings about the security risks of AI reach a fever pitch.
Gen. Joshua Rudd, the head of the National Security Agency, warned Congress earlier this month that Anthropic’s Mythos “broke into almost all of our classified systems, not in weeks, but in hours,” according to Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). The reporter who quoted the statement later clarified that “it would be a mistake to read that literally.”
The Trump administration recently blocked foreign nationals from using a model called Claude Fable 5 from tech giant Anthropic over concerns it is “too powerful.”
In response to the White House’s export controls, Anthropic pulled its Mythos and Fable models offline entirely, asserting it was the only way to ensure compliance with federal directives.
And last week, The Post reported that the Trump administration would not allow G7 countries to regain access to Anthropic’s most advanced AI models after the US imposed a ban earlier this month on national security grounds.
This week’s unusually blunt statement from the Five Eyes reflects growing concern among Western intelligence officials that the latest generation of AI systems could dramatically lower barriers for hackers while increasing the speed and sophistication of cyberattacks.
While the agencies acknowledged that AI can strengthen cyber defenses, they warned it can also help malicious actors identify vulnerabilities, automate attacks and exploit weaknesses faster than organizations can respond.
“AI is not a future consideration — it is already here,” the Five Eyes statement said.
The officials warned that the technology is shrinking the time between the discovery of a software vulnerability and its exploitation by attackers, putting additional pressure on businesses and government agencies that already struggle to keep pace with security updates.
The agencies said cyber risk can no longer be viewed solely as an IT problem.
“Cyber risk can no longer be treated as a purely technical issue,” the statement said.
“This is a core business risk and leadership responsibility.”
The warning was directed as much at corporate boardrooms as it was at cybersecurity professionals.
Officials said executives should understand cyber risks, empower security leaders, regularly test defenses and make cyber resilience a central part of business strategy.
“Success will come from getting the basics right, acting quickly, and integrating cyber security into core business strategy,” the agencies said.
The statement highlighted several areas that leaders should address immediately, including reducing unnecessary internet exposure, accelerating software patching, replacing unsupported legacy systems, tightening access controls and preparing for inevitable breaches.
The agencies also warned that AI systems themselves could introduce new security vulnerabilities.
“As AI systems evolve, new and previously unknown vulnerabilities will emerge, including zero-day vulnerabilities,” the statement said.
Rather than relying on a single defensive technology, organizations should adopt multiple layers of protection, according to the guidance.
The intelligence alliance stressed that cyber incidents should be viewed as inevitable and that preparation for containment and recovery is now as important as prevention.
“Breaches will occur,” the statement warned.
“Preparedness helps you contain them quickly and prevent escalation into major operational and financial crises.”
At the same time, the Five Eyes agencies urged organizations to embrace AI-powered defensive tools before adversaries gain a greater advantage.
The statement noted that companies using AI in their security operations can identify vulnerabilities more quickly, improve software quality, detect unusual activity and respond faster to incidents.
“Adversaries are already using AI to move faster and more effectively,” the agencies said.
“Defenders must do the same.”
The agencies closed with a stark message for governments and businesses alike: Cyber resilience is no longer merely a technical safeguard but a prerequisite for operational survival.
“The rapid pace of frontier AI development means cyber risk assumptions can become outdated in months, not years,” the statement said.
“We must act now.”
