Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the resilience of the UK financial system to cyberattacks enabled by increasingly capable artificial intelligence systems.

The Government recognises that increasingly capable artificial intelligence systems present both opportunities and risks for the financial sector. As noted in July’s Financial Stability Report, rapid progress in frontier AI capabilities presents a significant increase in the risks to financial stability from cyber and operational vulnerabilities.

HM Treasury works closely with the financial regulators, the National Cyber Security Centre and industry to strengthen the resilience of the UK financial system in the face of evolving cyber threats, including those enabled by AI. The authorities continue to work with firms through established resilience frameworks and industry bodies, including the Cross Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG), which issued guidance for firms in June to help them assess their current capabilities and accelerate their response.

Frontier AI also has the potential to strengthen the financial sector’s cyber defences. To help firms share best practices on this front, the Bank of England has established a forum for systemically important UK financial institutions and Financial Market Infrastructure to share their experiences on the use of frontier AI for cyber defence.