In MI5’s annual threat update, DG Sir Ken McCallum has warned that an attack is highly likely from extremists, including the far right.
MI5’s director general, Sir Ken McCallum, says national security threats are greater than ever. His comments come at his annual threat assessment press event, where he listed a range of threats to national security, including far-right extremists who hold anti-immigration views.
Among the threats posed are algorithms and their effects on children, as well as the risk of AI-enabled bioweapons, which particularly concerns him. “When you hear ‘national security’, don’t just think of Ukraine, subsea cables, armed drones or cyber weapons. Think also of the place where you live, where you work. Think of a flicker in the power grid supplying your home.”
Though he included Iran and China as major adversaries, Russia was described as “aggressor number one,” comments made in the shadow of sabotage attacks on UK-based Ukrainian couriers who were targeted by petty criminals recruited by the Kremlin’s GRU and Wagner groups on social media messaging apps.
The Nationalist Threat
Mr McCallum made an inclusive reference to synagogues and mosques having to “install enhanced security,” and warned that an attack in the United Kingdom remains highly likely following JTAC’s decision to return the UK terrorism threat level to “SEVERE”.
However, while Mr McCallum accepted that this change in the threat level reflects the overall picture of terrorist threats, he particularly noted that the increase was driven in significant part by Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism. He said extremist versions of “anti-immigration and anti-Muslim grievance are tipping into terrorist intent,” and noted foiled attacks on Muslim places of worship and venues connected to immigration and asylum.
Artificial Intelligence Risks
Of greatest concern to McCallum is the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), highlighting its risk of producing radicalising content, something the public knows all too well as soon as they log into their social media accounts.
The warnings did not stop there, as he underscored its “potential to change the stakes” in the development of existing or new bioweapons, and confirmed that the UK’s security agencies — GCHQ, MI5, and MI6 — are currently working together to counter this threat alongside the AI Security Institute.
“Part of that means retaining the capability edge against those who mean the UK harm. As they seek to harness AI, we must stay ahead, so these powerful technologies bolster rather than undermine our shared security.”
In response to the risks, Mr McCallum also announced the launch of the AI Threat Assessment Centre (AITAC), a department that will separate the noise of data into readable threats.
Nigel Farage & Rupert Lowe Are Anti-Muslim Hate Actors of the Highest Order
Farage and Lowe's anti-Muslim rhetoric is based more on personal prejudices than on a factual basis.
Brexit: New EU Referendum Will See Russia Prey on a Vulnerable UK Society
Russia will be licking its lips at the prospect of another EU referendum, and Britain is not ready
Yes, British Values Are Dying, Thanks to Mainstream Social Media
So-called patriots talk of “British values”, and the so-called liberals are starting to sound just like them.
Leave a Reply