Monitoring desk
LONDON: MI5 chief Sir Ken McCallum has warned that Britain is entering a new era of national security threats, with Russia, Iran, terrorism and artificial intelligence posing growing challenges.
In his annual threat update on Tuesday, McCallum said Russia remained a major threat through hostile activities, including sabotage and cyberattacks. He also warned that Iran-linked operations were becoming more concerning, with more than 50 arrests connected to Iran-related activities in the UK over the past year. Another key concern is the potential misuse of artificial intelligence by terrorists to plan attacks, develop biological weapons and spread extremist propaganda. McCallum also highlighted the growing risk of far-right extremism and Islamist terrorism.
He said the changing security landscape required stronger cooperation between intelligence agencies, government and the public. MI5 has established an AI Threat Assessment Centre to examine how emerging technologies could threaten national security.
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