The UK government has launched pioneering measures aimed at strengthening cybersecurity in AI models and software, signalling a step towards fortifying the nation’s cyber-defences.

Announced today (15 May) these initiatives are poised to establish a global standard for safeguarding AI models from hacking and sabotage. Under the leadership of technology minister Saqib Bhatti, the government introduced two comprehensive codes of practice meticulously crafted in collaboration with industry experts.

These codes mandate developers to imbue their AI products with resilience against tampering, hacking, and sabotage, aiming to instil confidence in AI usage across various sectors. 

“The new codes of practice will help support our growing cybersecurity industry to develop AI models and software in a way which ensures they are resilient to malicious attacks,” said NCSC CEO Felicity Oswald.

“Setting standards for our security will help improve our collective resilience and I commend organisations to follow these requirements to help keep the UK safe online.”

Minister Bhatti underscored the government’s commitment to fostering a safe digital environment conducive to economic growth, emphasising the importance of the new measures in making AI models resilient from the design phase.

“We have always been clear that to harness the enormous potential of the digital economy, we need to foster a safe environment for it to grow and develop,” he said during his address. “This is precisely what we are doing with these new measures, which will help make AI models resilient from the design phase.”

The unveiling of these measures coincided with the release of the Cyber Sectoral Analysis Report, which showcased the sector’s remarkable growth trajectory. With a 13% increase in the last year, the cybersecurity sector now boasts a worth of nearly £12 billion, positioning it alongside industries such as automotive.

In addition to regulatory frameworks, the government is focusing on nurturing cyber-skills among the youth. Plans for a national cyber-skills competition targeting 18–25-year-olds aim to build a new generation of cyber-professionals, further fortifying the nation’s cyber-defences.

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As the UK solidifies its position as a global leader in cybersecurity, these measures highlight the government’s proactive stance in safeguarding digital infrastructure and fostering a thriving digital economy. 

“Moving forwards, businesses need to stay ahead of potential threats. The threat landscape is constantly evolving, so organisations need to keep pace and ensure that they regularly reviewing and upgrading their defences.” said Kevin Curran, IEEE senior member and professor of cybersecurity.

“Some approaches that worked just a few years ago are now obsolete and given how rapidly artificially intelligence has been rolled out in recent months, enterprises must adopt more comprehensive data protection strategies and tools to secure their systems.”