ICO Publishes Five-Step Plan to Counter Emerging AI-Powered Attacks
ICO Publishes Five-Step Plan to Counter Emerging AI-Powered Attacks
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ico-steps-in-advice-handling-ai/
Publish Date: 2026-05-14 05:00:00
Source Domain: www.infosecurity-magazine.com
Getting the basics right, understanding the threat and putting in place multi-layered defenses are key to protecting organizations from AI-powered cyber threats, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.
Alarmed by the uptick in AI-driven attacks, the data protection regulator today released a five-step guide, urging organizations to proactively prepare for emerging threats.
“By investing in cyber resilience and ensuring appropriate security measures are in place, you can build public trust and confidence in how your organization protects the personal data you hold,” said Ian Hulme, executive director of regulatory supervision at the ICO.
He pointed readers first to the National Cyber Security Centre’s updated Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) to better understand how adversaries are using AI in attacks, or attacking corporate AI systems.
Read more on AI-driven threats: Hackers Observed Using AI to Develop Zero-Day for the First Time
The specific threats outlined by the ICO should be familiar to cybersecurity professionals and include:
- AI-enhanced phishing targeting colleagues, clients or suppliers
- Deepfake-powered social engineering used on employees
- Automated vulnerability scanning and exploitation
- AI-powered malware which adapts in real time to evade detection
- Credential stuffing and password attacks which target weak passwords
- Data poisoning of AI models
- Indirect prompt injection attacks
Getting the Cybersecurity Basics Right
The ICO said it expects organizations to have in place Cyber Essentials’ five controls and the UK’s Cyber Governance Code of Practice as a bare minimum.
But it added that extra layers of defense are “essential” and should include a “solid patching and updating process” to mitigate the machine-speed vulnerability research and exploit development that adversaries can now achieve.
“As part of vulnerability management, an organization should be considering the impact of an exposed…
