Bank of England Sounds Alarm on AI-Driven Cyber Threats to Financial Services

The Bank of England has issued a warning to financial services firms regarding AI hacking risks. The warning comes as the risk outlook for the UK economy has worsened since July, and AI security incidents have put pressure on firms to prepare for AI-related cyber and operational risks.

Simon Edwards, CEO of SE Labs, commented that AI tools within banks or financial firms need to undergo stringent testing like any other security product. He emphasized the importance of independent testing using real-world attack techniques used by hackers before deployment goes live.

Andrew Bailey, the Bank's governor, stated that AI advances can't be viewed in isolation from the UK's financial system. Dr Janet Bastiman, Chief Data Scientist at Napier AI, highlighted the need for continuous testing of behaviour, including how models respond to unexpected inputs and interact with other systems.