Cyberconflict and warfare Archives | Digital Watch Observatory

GCHQ outlines AI-driven cyber defence programme for protecting critical infrastructure

The UK’s signals intelligence agency GCHQ has announced plans to develop an AI-powered national cyber defence capability that would use autonomous software agents to identify and respond to cyber threats at machine speed. Speaking publicly, GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler described the initiative as a ‘blueprint for a new national cyber defence capability’ to be operational within five years.

The programme would apply agentic AI to monitor and protect critical sectors including energy, water, healthcare, transport, and financial services. According to Keast-Butler, advances in AI are accelerating the discovery of software vulnerabilities, increasing pressure on defenders to identify and mitigate risks more quickly.

UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis had previously outlined the national cyber shield concept in April, noting that protecting critical infrastructure in an AI-enabled environment would require approaches beyond standard commercial security products. The Cabinet Office has since approached AI companies to contribute to the development of these capabilities.

GCHQ is separately integrating AI into its intelligence analysis workflows, including language translation and large-scale data processing.

Alongside the cyber defence announcement, Keast-Butler addressed two further technical priorities. On quantum computing, she noted that post-quantum encryption is now an active planning requirement rather than a future consideration, pointing to National Cyber Security Centre guidance on transitioning to quantum-resistant algorithms. On space, she observed that the volume of orbital infrastructure has grown substantially — over 10,000 new objects launched in three years — with GCHQ working to secure space-based systems that underpin data transmission globally.

GCHQ’s Mathematics directorate is developing new cryptographic methods suited to the post-quantum environment, building on the agency’s role in pioneering public-key cryptography in the 1970s.

Taken together, the announcements sketch a broader shift in how GCHQ positions its role. The announcements suggest a broader role for GCHQ, combining intelligence, cybersecurity, cryptography and infrastructure protection as part of the UK’s wider digital resilience strategy.

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ENISA to host 2026 telecom and digital infrastructure security forum

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) has announced its Telecom and Digital Infrastructure Security Forum 2026, bringing together telecom experts, policymakers and national authorities to address emerging cybersecurity risks.

The forum will focus on challenges, including cyberattacks on telecom networks, resilience issues such as power dependencies, and the security implications of new technologies. It aims to support strategic and technical dialogue across the sector.

Organised with the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, the event provides a private setting for collaboration among industry specialists, regulators and the wider cybersecurity community, without public broadcasting.

Discussions will contribute to ongoing efforts to strengthen coordinated telecom security measures and policy development across the EU, with the event taking place in Nicosia, Cyprus.

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Peacebuilding and AI in focus at UNSSC webinar series

The United Nations System Staff College has highlighted growing interest across the UN and the wider peacebuilding community in how artificial intelligence is shaping conflict prevention, arguing that the technology can support peace efforts but cannot replace human judgement, diplomacy, and oversight.

The reflection draws on a three-part webinar series launched by UNSSC to examine AI governance, field use, and ethical risks in peacebuilding. According to the text, one message ran across all three discussions: AI may offer real value for conflict prevention, but its role should remain supportive rather than substitutive.

The piece argues that AI is already being used across the UN peace and security pillar and should be introduced only where it improves effectiveness, such as by handling repetitive tasks and allowing staff to focus on analysis, leadership, and political judgement. It also stresses that principles long associated with peacebuilding, including trust and ‘do no harm’, should apply across the full AI stack, from data and infrastructure to model design and deployment.

Examples cited from the webinar series include the use of augmented intelligence in early warning systems, where machine learning is combined with human contextual knowledge, and an AI-enabled WhatsApp chatbot used in Yemen to broaden participation in mediation, particularly among women and young people. The text presents these cases as evidence that AI can extend the reach of peacebuilding tools without replacing practitioners.

The final part of the reflection focuses on governance and ethics. It argues that while ethical AI principles are widely discussed, they need to be translated into practical, context-specific safeguards, especially in conflict settings. It also notes that risks differ across use cases such as early warning, social media monitoring, and mediation support, and says meaningful governance requires input from diplomats, researchers, mediators, and the private sector.

UNSSC says the webinar series drew between 300 and 500 registrants per session, which it presents as evidence of strong demand for more targeted learning on AI and peacebuilding. The college argues that its role should extend beyond convening discussion to turning those debates into practical knowledge for UN practitioners working at the intersection of AI and conflict prevention.

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US military expands AI deployment across classified networks

The US Department of Defence has announced agreements with leading technology firms to deploy advanced AI capabilities across classified military networks. The initiative forms part of a broader effort to position the United States as a more AI-enabled military power.

Companies including OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, NVIDIA, and SpaceX are reported to be involved in supporting deployment within high-security Impact Level 6 and 7 environments. The integration is intended to improve data synthesis, situational awareness, and operational decision-making across defence systems.

The department’s internal platform, GenAI.mil, is also being presented as a central part of this push, with senior officials describing it as a way to put advanced AI tools into the hands of personnel across the department and across different classification levels.

Officials have emphasised that maintaining access to a range of AI providers is important to avoid vendor lock-in and preserve long-term flexibility. In that sense, the move reflects a wider attempt to strengthen national security through advanced technology while keeping the military AI stack diversified rather than dependent on a single company or model family. However, this is an inference based on the reported Pentagon framing of the agreements.

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Swisscom says AI and geopolitics are reshaping the cyber threat landscape

Swisscom has published its 2026 Cybersecurity Threat Radar, warning that cyber threats have grown more complex over the past year as geopolitical tensions and disruptive technologies put added pressure on digital systems. The report presents AI, supply chain exposure, digital sovereignty, and operational technology security as four strategic risk areas for organisations.

The report highlights state-linked cyber activity, hybrid influence operations such as disinformation, and supply chain attacks as key drivers of the current threat environment. It argues that digital transformation has increased dependence on cloud services, third-party software, AI systems, and networked industrial infrastructure, making organisations more exposed to cascading failures and external dependencies.

On AI, Swisscom describes insecure AI use as a risk multiplier. While AI can improve productivity, the report warns that poor governance, weak visibility into models, and uncontrolled use of AI tools in operational environments can expand attack surfaces, affect data quality, and create new compliance challenges.

Software supply chains are also identified as a persistent vulnerability. Swisscom says a single compromised component or manipulated update process can have far-reaching consequences across interconnected systems, making software integrity, origin verification, and traceability increasingly important as mitigation measures.

The convergence of information technology and operational technology is presented as another growing area of concern. In sectors such as energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and building automation, incidents can have consequences that go well beyond financial loss, affecting critical infrastructure, production, and even human safety.

The report also places greater emphasis on digital sovereignty, arguing that organisations need clearer visibility over where data is processed, which legal regimes apply, and how dependent they are on cloud and technology providers. In that sense, Swisscom frames cybersecurity less as a narrow IT function and more as a strategic governance issue tied to resilience, control, and trust.

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EU and Republic of Korea launch aviation partnership on technical cooperation and cyber resilience

European and South Korean aviation authorities are conducting a three-week series of technical exchanges in Seoul, covering safety oversight, airspace management, and cybersecurity.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are participating under the EU–Republic of Korea Aviation Partnership Project, an EU-funded initiative announced by the European External Action Service (EEAS).

The programme began with a three-day session on the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP), which assesses national aviation safety oversight systems. EASA presented findings from its most recent ICAO audit, with discussions covering oversight frameworks, organisational structures, and lessons identified.

A workshop on performance-based navigation and airspace management followed, addressing procedures to improve the predictability and efficiency of aircraft arrivals, including at airports with parallel runways.

A third workshop on aviation cybersecurity is scheduled for the coming week. It will cover security considerations across aviation systems, including aircraft certification processes and air traffic management infrastructure.

The activities are designed to facilitate technical exchange between Korean and European stakeholders across the aviation sector, according to EASA.

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UK government seeks industry cooperation to strengthen AI-driven cyber resilience

The UK government has called on leading AI companies to collaborate on building advanced cyber defence capabilities, as threats grow in scale and sophistication.

Speaking ahead of CYBERUK, Security Minister Dan Jarvis emphasised that AI-driven security will become a defining challenge, requiring innovation at unprecedented speed and scale.

Government officials warn that AI is already reshaping the threat landscape, with hostile states and criminal groups increasingly deploying automated systems to identify vulnerabilities.

The number of nationally significant cyber incidents handled by authorities more than doubled in 2025, highlighting the urgency of strengthening national resilience.

To address these risks, businesses are being encouraged to sign a voluntary Cyber Resilience Pledge, committing to stronger governance, early warning systems, and supply chain security standards.

Alongside this initiative, the UK government will invest £90 million over the next three years to support cyber defences, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.

A strategy that forms part of a broader National Cyber Action Plan, reflecting a shift towards integrating AI into national security infrastructure.

Officials argue that effective cooperation between government and industry will be essential to protect critical systems and maintain economic stability in an increasingly automated threat environment.

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UK’s National Cyber Security Centre chief warns of ‘perfect storm’ for UK cybersecurity

Dr Richard Horne, chief executive of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, has described the country as facing a ‘perfect storm’ for cybersecurity.

Speaking at the CYBERUK conference in Glasgow, Horne described developments in AI and wider international tensions as creating a period of ‘tumultuous uncertainty’. He added that the definition of cybersecurity is expanding as technology becomes more deeply embedded in robotics, autonomous systems, and human-integrated technologies.

Horne called for what he described as a ‘cultural shift’ across organisations, adding: ‘cybersecurity is the responsibility of everyone, whether they sit on the Board or the IT help desk… cybersecurity is part of their mission.’

He also argued: ‘organisations that do not focus on their technology base…as core to their prosperity … are no longer just naïve but are failing to grasp the reality of today’s world.’

On the threat landscape, Horne noted that incident numbers remain ‘fairly steady’, but that the source of attacks has shifted, with ‘the majority of the nationally significant incidents that the NCSC is handling now originate directly or indirectly from nation states.’

He also described cyberspace as part of the contested space ‘between peace and war’ and warned that the UK is seeing Russia apply lessons learned during its invasion of Ukraine beyond the battlefield. In that context, he argued that recent conflicts show ‘cyber operations are now integral to conflict’ and that ‘cybersecurity is the home front’.

Addressing frontier AI, Horne said: ‘Frontier AI is rapidly enabling discovery and exploitation of existing vulnerabilities at scale, illustrating how quickly it will expose where fundamentals of cybersecurity are still to be addressed.’

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Europol-backed operation shuts down thousands of dark web fraud sites

A global law enforcement operation supported by Europol has led to the shutdown of more than 373,000 dark web websites linked to fraudulent activity and the advertisement of child sexual abuse material.

The operation, known as ‘Operation Alice’, was launched on 9 March 2026 under the leadership of German authorities, with participation from 23 countries. The investigation, which began in 2021, initially targeted a dark web platform referred to as ‘Alice with Violence CP’.

According to Europol, investigators identified a single operator responsible for managing a network of hundreds of thousands of onion domains. These websites advertised child sexual abuse material and cybercrime-as-a-service offerings, including access to stolen financial data and systems.

Authorities state that the services were fraudulent, designed to extract payments without delivering the advertised material.

The operation has so far resulted in the identification of 440 customers worldwide, with further investigations ongoing against more than 100 individuals. Law enforcement agencies also seized 105 servers and multiple electronic devices during the coordinated action.

Europol provided analytical support, facilitated information exchange, and assisted in tracing cryptocurrency transactions linked to the network.

Authorities also reported that measures were taken throughout the investigation to identify and protect children at risk. An international arrest warrant has been issued for the suspected operator, who is reported to have generated significant profits through the scheme.

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AI safety push sees Anthropic and OpenAI recruit explosives specialists

Anthropic and OpenAI are recruiting chemical and explosives experts to strengthen safeguards for their AI systems, reflecting growing concern about the potential misuse of advanced models.

Anthropic is seeking a policy specialist to design and monitor guardrails governing how its systems respond to prompts involving chemical weapons and explosives. The role includes assessing high-risk scenarios and responding to potential escalation signals in real time.

OpenAI is expanding its Preparedness team, hiring researchers and a threat modeller to identify and forecast risks linked to frontier AI systems. The positions focus on evaluating catastrophic risks and aligning technical, policy, and governance responses.

The recruitment drive comes amid heightened scrutiny of AI safety and national security implications. Anthropic is currently challenging a US government designation that labels it a supply-chain risk, while tensions have emerged over restrictions on the military use of AI systems.

At the same time, OpenAI has secured agreements to deploy its technology in classified environments under defined constraints. The parallel developments highlight how AI firms are balancing commercial expansion with increasing pressure to implement robust safety controls.

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