Leaders Of Five Eyes Cyber Security Agencies Call To Action On Ai Preparedness

Catriona Robinson, Deputy Director General Cyber Security, the head of New Zealand’s National Cyber Security Centre, has today joined her Five Eyes colleagues to issue a Call to Action to address the evolving cyber risk landscape driven by Frontier AI’s ability to identify and exploit vulnerabilities at unprecedented speed and scale.

"As the leaders of the Five Eyes cyber security agencies, we are united in our call to action: the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming cyber risk, and we must act swiftly to remain ahead."

“AI is not a future consideration – it is already here. It lowers barriers for malicious actors and increases the speed and complexity of attacks, shrinking the window between vulnerability discovery and exploitation ever more quickly. At the same time, AI offers powerful tools to strengthen defence."

Ms. Robinson said that organisations need to prepare now for a significant increase in vulnerabilities and incidents, and the subsequent business disruption these will cause.

understand and assess risk, readiness and accountability

prioritize foundational cyber security practices and controls

empower cyber leaders with authority and resources

stay actively engaged as threats and guidance evolve.

Breaches will occur but preparedness helps you contain them quickly and prevent escalation into major operational and financial crises."

Ms. Robinson said that the NCSC had a programme of work to manage the implications of Frontier AI for New Zealand, while also establishing the capability to take advantage of the cyber security opportunities these tools provide.

“The NCSC is accessing frontier AI models and is working with providers to understand and inform our response to cyber security risks and provide advice and guidance to New Zealand organisations.”

As well as accessing frontier models the NCSC’s work programme includes:

Collaborating with industry, including vendors who have been testing these models, to improve understanding of their implications.

Ongoing development and publication of advice and guidance to business and government.

Working with agencies implementing the government’s digital roadmap to ensure cyber security and resilience is a foundational component of digital investment and procurement from concept to implementation.

Read The Five Eyes Call to Action [PDF, 379 KB]

Read NCSC's guidance on frontier AI:

Frontier AI: Managing the increasing risks from vulnerabilities

Cyber readiness in the Frontier AI era