The UK Government is calling on leading AI companies to collaborate on strengthening national cyber defence capabilities, as the Security Minister Dan Jarvis prepares to address the CYBERUK conference. The appeal comes in response to the growing scale and sophistication of AI-driven cyber threats, with government officials warning that advanced AI systems are rapidly reshaping the cyber security landscape for businesses and critical infrastructure.
The Security Minister is expected to describe AI-powered cyber defence as a “generational endeavour,” highlighting the need for cooperation between government and industry to build systems capable of autonomously detecting and responding to vulnerabilities at a speed and scale beyond human capability. This push follows a broader warning from UK ministers about the accelerating risks posed by frontier AI technologies and their use by both hostile states and criminal groups.
Recent data underscores the urgency of these concerns, with the National Cyber Security Centre reporting that nationally significant cyber incidents more than doubled in 2025. Officials say attackers are increasingly using automated AI tools to identify and exploit weaknesses in digital systems, raising pressure on organisations to strengthen their defences.
Alongside the call for industry collaboration, the government is inviting UK businesses to sign a voluntary Cyber Resilience Pledge aimed at improving baseline security standards. To qualify, organisations must make cyber security a board-level responsibility, enrol in the National Cyber Security Centre’s Early Warning service, and adopt the Cyber Essentials certification across their supply chains. Ministers say these steps are practical and proven measures to improve resilience.
The initiative will be supported by a £90 million investment over the next three years to strengthen cyber defences, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. The funding will be delivered through existing programmes under the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the National Cyber Security Centre.
Government ministers emphasise that cyber resilience is a shared responsibility across industry and public institutions. The Cyber Resilience Pledge is expected to become part of the wider National Cyber Action Plan, which has been developed in consultation with more than 500 businesses and organisations and will be formally published later this year.
