UK seeks collaboration for security research lab to counter Russia and ‘new AI arms race’ 

The U.K. is seeking collaboration for a new AI security research lab that’s designed to counter Russia and other hostile states in what it dubs the “new AI arms race.”

While the U.K. government has launched numerous funding initiatives in the past to support cybersecurity projects, the rise of AI-fueled nation-state attacks, specifically, is the driving force behind this latest endeavor. The Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR) will be funded initially with £8.22 million ($10.3 million) from the government itself, but it is adopting what it calls a “catalytic model,” which it hopes will see other entities from industry contribute to the pot.

“Be in no doubt — the United Kingdom and others in this room are watching Russia,” the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, said in a prepared statement ahead of the NATO Cyber Defence Conference in London today. “We know exactly what they are doing, and we are countering their attacks both publicly and behind the scenes.”

The lab’s ultimate remit is to “protect the U.K. and its allies against new threats,” and will include partnerships with various government departments, including the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the Alan Turing Institute, and the AI Safety Institute. Academic institutions such as the University of Oxford and Queen’s University Belfast are also involved, while the government says the laboratory will pursue collaboration with “like-minded partners,” including the so-called Five Eyes countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S.) and NATO members.

Russia, in particular, has been a central player in many recent cyber attacks, with Microsoft President Brad Smith last week urging President-elect Donald Trump to take a tougher stance against nation-states, including Russia, China and Iran. Indeed, Microsoft has accused Russian government hackers of continuing to infiltrate its systems following a hack the previous year.

But while attackers can use AI to scale their efforts, for instance by adapting in real-time to evade detection or exploiting vulnerabilities more efficiently, AI can also be used to counter such attacks. This is partly what the U.K.’s new cyber lab is designed for.

“While AI can amplify existing cyber threats, it can also create better cyber defence tools, and presents opportunities for intelligence agencies to collect, analyse, and produce more useful intelligence,” McFadden said.

Elsewhere, the U.K. government in July announced a new Cyber Security and Resilience bill, designed to protect public services following a growing number of cyberattacks on critical services and infrastructure such as hospitals.