The UK National Cyber Security Centre says AI-powered malware is highly likely to be used in a ransomware attack against British critical national infrastructure by 2028. The assessment appears in the agency’s 2026 annual review, published November 3.
The NCSC says AI is more likely to accelerate existing cyber operations than create entirely new attack methods. It expects the technology to improve reconnaissance, social engineering, vulnerability discovery and exploit development, while human operators remain essential to direct and validate AI-generated output. The report says China is highly likely to have both the intent and strongest position to use AI-enhanced operations against UK critical infrastructure and other strategic targets.
The warning comes as connected infrastructure faces real-world disruption. Recent cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration systems across Europe affected retailers in several countries, and the NCSC cited those incidents as a warning about exposed operational technology. The agency’s annual review also identifies AI-assisted vulnerability discovery as a growing challenge for defenders, a concern underscored by the recent PHP2Shell vulnerabilities affecting the widely used PHP ecosystem.
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