The UK has published global guidelines to ensure the secure development of AI technology, which has already been endorsed by 18 countries, including the US.

Dubbed Guidelines for Secure AI System Development, the standards aim to raise the cybersecurity levels of AI and help ensure that it is designed, developed, and deployed securely.

17 other countries have already confirmed they will endorse and co-seal the new guidelines, a testament to the UK’s leadership in AI safety following the AI Safety Summit.

The guidelines have been developed by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ, and the US’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in cooperation with industry experts from 21  other international agencies and ministries from across the world – including those from all members of the G7 group of nations and from the global south.

Claiming to be the first of their kind to be agreed globally, the guidelines are set to develop any systems that use AI to make informed cybersecurity decisions at every stage of the development process – whether those systems are fully original or built on top of foundational models and services.

“We know that AI is developing at a phenomenal pace and there is a need for concerted international action, across governments and industry, to keep up,” CEO of NCSC Lindy Cameron said.

“These guidelines mark a significant step in shaping a truly global, common understanding of the cyber risks and mitigation strategies around AI to ensure that security is not a postscript to development but a core requirement throughout.

“I’m proud that the NCSC is leading crucial efforts to raise the AI cyber security bar: a more secure global cyber space will help us all to safely and confidently realise this technology’s wonderful opportunities.”

These guidelines are intended as a global, multi-stakeholder effort to address that issue, building on the UK Government’s AI Safety Summit’s legacy of sustained international cooperation on AI risks.

“As nations and organizations embrace the transformative power of AI, this international collaboration, led by CISA and NCSC, underscores the global dedication to fostering transparency, accountability, and secure practices,” CISA director Jen Easterly said.

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“The domestic and international unity in advancing secure by design principles and cultivating a resilient foundation for the safe development of AI systems worldwide could not come at a more important time in our shared technology revolution.”

The guidelines are broken down into four key areas – secure design, secure development, secure deployment, and secure operation and maintenance – complete with suggested behaviours to help improve security.

International signatories include representative organisations from: Australia, Canada, Chile, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Singapore, the UK, and the United States.