Cyber Threat: UK faces AI-driven attacks on power and water by 2028
The National Cyber Security Center warns that adversaries from China and Russia will use artificial intelligence to exploit infrastructure weaknesses, costing the UK economy nearly $20 billion annually.
By Jack Weber ·
Malicious cyber activity costs organizations in the United Kingdom approximately $20 billion every year, according to the National Cyber Security Center. This figure underscores the financial toll of digital intrusions on the national economy before accounting for potential future disruptions caused by advanced technology.
The UK's National Cyber Security Center predicts that artificial intelligence will drive cyberattacks on critical infrastructure by 2028. Richard Horne, the head of the NCSC, stated that criminals and state actors, specifically China and Russia, are increasingly integrating AI into their cyber operations. He warned that this shift allows adversaries to identify and exploit vulnerabilities that have been tolerated for too long. The scale of these exploitations could reach levels previously considered unimaginable.
Chinese cyber activity represents the most sophisticated and sustained challenge facing the UK, the annual report noted. Both Russia and China are expected to routinely use AI to achieve geopolitical goals. Russia is currently conducting cyber campaigns that fall below the threshold of armed conflict, while Iran is targeting individuals who threaten its regime. The report indicates that AI is likely to enhance existing tactics and scale current operations rather than discovering entirely new types of vulnerabilities.
Business leaders who have relied on outdated or cheap technology will face scrutiny if failures disrupt essential services. Horne warned that these leaders must explain why lights are off or food is missing from shelves if they fail to invest in cybersecurity. He emphasized that technology underpins the automation of physical processes vital to modern life. These processes include electricity switching, sluice gates in water facilities, dam operations, manufacturing lines, and heating and refrigeration controls.
Recent events demonstrate the vulnerability of civilian infrastructure. Cyberattacks on refrigeration systems in French supermarkets showed how easily hostile actors can exploit these systems. In December 2025, the UK and EU member states identified Russia's FSB security service as the group behind an attack on Poland's energy grid. Had that attack succeeded, 500,000 people in Poland could have lost electricity during the winter.
The financial impact of these threats is already visible in specific corporate losses. Jaguar Land Rover suffered more than $260 million in direct losses in 2025 following a cyberattack. The breach also hit suppliers and dented the wider UK economy. Last week, governments and corporations worked on urgent security updates after AI-assisted discovery of flaws in a programming language used by 70% of global websites. These two critical flaws could allow bad actors to gain unauthenticated access to sites and control web servers remotely without a password.
Anne Keast-Butler, director of GCHQ, Britain's signals intelligence agency, called for immediate action from every organization in the UK. She stated that cybersecurity is now part of the front line defense of the nation. The NCSC recommends implementing basic but effective measures to protect customers, services, and livelihoods. These measures include ensuring devices are up to date, limiting administrator access to systems, and backing up important files and data.
