Security Minister Dan Jarvis is calling on leading AI companies to partner with the government to develop AI-powered cyber defence capabilities.
These systems, he argues, could autonomously identify and patch vulnerabilities across critical networks at a speed and scale beyond human capability.
“Building AI cyber defence capabilities is a generational endeavour that will test the absolute limits of our engineering and innovation,” Jarvis said.
“Cooperation with industry could protect our nation’s most critical networks by autonomously identifying and addressing vulnerabilities at a speed and scale no human can match.”
The push comes amid rapidly evolving threats. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) reported that the number of nationally significant cyber incidents more than doubled in 2025, driven by hostile states and criminal groups deploying automated AI systems to scout and exploit weaknesses.
Recent advancements in frontier AI models have further heightened concerns, with capabilities emerging that can discover software vulnerabilities at unprecedented speeds.
Just a week earlier, Jarvis and Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall issued an open letter to business leaders warning that advancing AI systems are fundamentally changing the cyber threat landscape.
AI is enabling attackers to scale operations, generate sophisticated phishing at volume, automate attack chains, and lower the barrier for less-skilled threat actors.
A call for partnership and pragmatism
Jarvis framed the initiative as building on the UK’s success in attracting AI investment, while extending it into national security. He urged AI firms and UK innovators to collaborate on defensive tools that match or exceed the offensive capabilities now in play.
Organisations are being invited to sign a voluntary Cyber Resilience Pledge, which requires three practical steps:
- Treat cyber security as a board-level responsibility.
- Enroll in the NCSC’s free Early Warning service.
- Mandate the government-backed Cyber Essentials certification across supply chains.
Cyber Security Minister Baroness Lloyd has already written to CEOs and chairs of more than 180 major UK businesses to encourage sign-ups ahead of a formal launch later this year.
“The cyber threat facing UK businesses is serious, growing and evolving fast,” she said. “AI is giving attackers capabilities that would have seemed extraordinary just a year ago, and no organisation can afford to be complacent.”
The pledge will feed into the National Cyber Action Plan, set for publication this summer following consultations with over 500 businesses and organisations.
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