Xi hacks for secrets, Kim for cash, Putin for chaos

Cyberattacks cost the global economy over £7 trillion a year — more than double the UK’s gross domestic product. The annual hit to the country alone is £27 billion. But one prediction that can be made about 2026 with grim certainty is that these numbers will rise.

After the devastating hacks at Jaguar Land Rover, Marks & Spencer and others, more British companies will be hit. Artificial intelligence has massively lowered the barriers to entry for cyberattackers. It used to be that only criminal groups with experienced hackers could pull off a successful raid. Now, in much the same way that we have vibe coding, we have vibe hacking.

“My experience in office means that I am depressingly confident our enemies will have spotted how potent these strikes on businesses are, and realised that these eminently deniable, ‘gray zone’ attacks are an ideal way to harm and distract us,” former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak writes. “We must continue attributing cyberattacks to their authors; it is one of the ways in which we can raise the cost of carrying them out.”

Read more at The Times