{"id":623577,"date":"2026-09-13T16:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T16:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/623577\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T16:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T16:46:13","slug":"cyber-criminals-could-use-ai-to-raid-bank-accounts-in-just-three-months-security-officials-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/623577\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyber criminals ‘could use AI to raid bank accounts in just THREE MONTHS’, security officials warn"},"content":{"rendered":"

By GABRIEL MILLARD-CLOTHIER, POLITICAL REPORTER<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 19:36 EDT, 12 September 2026 | Updated: 10:32 EDT, 13 September 2026 <\/p>\n

Cyber criminals are just three months away from being able to use AI<\/a> to steal at will from bank accounts, Government security experts fear.<\/p>\n

The warning comes from Cabinet Office officials who work closely with Britain\u2019s AI Security Institute (AISI), which tests the kit before it is unleashed on the public.<\/p>\n

Insiders at the world-renowned institute have early sight of the most cutting-edge technology – and have warned the Mail on Sunday that Britain faces this \u2018nightmare scenario\u2019 in just three to five months.<\/p>\n

One official told this newspaper that this \u2018AI Armageddon\u2019 may become reality sooner than previously thought because Chinese labs favour AI models that do not have strict safety guardrails.<\/p>\n

Unlike in the West, Chinese tech allows developers to easily strip away safety features which restrict what an AI model can do.<\/p>\n

These may forbid some words and patterns or produce a standard refusal message – for example, if someone tried to use AI to build a bomb or commit a crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now China is rolling out increasingly advanced models with easily disabled safety features, meaning small businesses and members of the public could be vulnerable to fraudsters much sooner than expected.<\/p>\n

The official told the MoS: \u2018Every Russian and Nigerian hacker will soon get their hands on technology which will be able to break even the most advanced passwords to steal personal financial information, remove company data and commit fraud.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Cyber <\/p>\n

Cyber criminals are just three months away from being able to use AI to steal at will from bank accounts, Government security experts fear (stock image)<\/p>\n

Banks are no longer able to respond adequately to sophisticated technology, the Financial Stability Institute warned this week.<\/p>\n

They called on financial institutions to bolster their defences to prevent major hacks and protect customers\u2019 cash.<\/p>\n

In a paper published last Wednesday, they say some technology is now so advanced they may only have hours to stop a hacker from breaking in.<\/p>\n

Ministers are worried by the rate at which the technology is improving, and expect a deluge of sophisticated attacks.<\/p>\n

The MoS understands Ministers are exploring whether more \u2018targeted interventions\u2019 will be needed to address national security risks. In a sign of their concern, they claim this would be \u2018proportionate\u2019 without hitting growth and innovation.<\/p>\n

Tensions about AI soared this week after leading American AI firm, Anthropic, barred Britain\u2019s safety institute from testing its latest model.<\/p>\n

One AI expert said this step shows America now treats AI as \u2018state secrets and dangerous weapons\u2019.<\/p>\n

This weekend, Anthropic said it had thwarted five attempts this year by people using the model to try to make bioweapons.<\/p>\n

In a report, the firm said its \u2018Claude\u2019 model can help make scientific breakthroughs. But it warned the same biological research capability could also be used to create dangerous superbugs capable of killing millions.<\/p>\n

It comes as a global debate about AI was triggered by one of the company\u2019s researchers quitting the firm over an \u2018out of control\u2019 AI arms race<\/p>\n

He issued a stark warning that the big companies are not acting responsibly, and said there is \u2018more than a 10 per cent\u2019 chance of the technology killing \u2018all humans\u2019 within the next decade.<\/p>\n

It has intensified calls to take AI safety more seriously.<\/p>\n

AI safety campaigner Connor Axiotes said: \u2018America now doesn\u2019t want us to gain any advantages from their tech – this is bonkers. They obviously don\u2019t trust their closest ally.<\/p>\n

\u2018AI risks have so far not been taken seriously by government. But we are at a turning point. The public want action.<\/p>\n

\u2018I call on any elected official or civil servant to express clearly and publicly their fears about imminent risks from AI. Do not be remembered as the person who failed to act.\u2019<\/p>\n

Tory MP Joe Robertson said: \u2018AI provides incredible opportunities, but it also presents new threats to our national and economic security. But with Andy Burnham scrapping the AI department, you wouldn\u2019t know it. The new PM should spend less time playing his guitar and more time taking AI seriously.\u2019<\/p>\n

A Government spokesperson said: \u2018AI is making some cyber capabilities more accessible, but businesses are not defenceless. All firms should be acting urgently to improve their cyber defences, and we have set out the practical steps businesses should take, including adopting Cyber Essentials, following National Cyber Security Centre guidance and managing cyber security at board level.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By GABRIEL MILLARD-CLOTHIER, POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 19:36 EDT, 12 September 2026 | Updated: 10:32 EDT, 13 September 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[220,218,219,114,539,61,60,43,80],"class_list":["post-623577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-china","tag-dailymail","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}