Five Eyes warns AI cyber threats are 'months' away, urges immediate action

The warning

The Five Eyes intelligence alliance issued a rare joint statement on Monday, warning that frontier AI models will soon transform offensive hacking. "The timeline is not years, it is months," the agencies said. The statement was signed by the cyber chiefs of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, including NSA cybersecurity director David Imbordino and acting CISA director Nick Andersen.

“Frontier AI models are anticipated to exceed current industry expectations, fundamentally transforming both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities. The timeline is not years, it is months.”

What the agencies recommend

The statement urged organizations to patch vulnerabilities quickly, limit unnecessary internet connectivity, and strengthen identity controls. It also called for using AI to bolster defenses, such as detecting weaknesses sooner. "Cyber risk can no longer be treated as a purely technical issue. This is a core business risk and leadership responsibility," the agencies wrote.

“Cyber risk can no longer be treated as a purely technical issue. This is a core business risk and leadership responsibility.”

The Anthropic connection

The warning follows the Trump administration's decision earlier this month to block foreign nationals from accessing Anthropic's Fable 5 model, a more accessible version of the powerful Mythos system. Mythos, released earlier this year, is capable of identifying software vulnerabilities at scale. OpenAI's GPT-5.5-Cyber has also drawn attention for similar capabilities.

Expert concerns

Olivia Shen, a national security expert at the University of Sydney, said other powerful models may be in development by rival states like China. "Other extremely powerful models are already being developed in secret by rival states, such as China, or by various private organizations, and their emergence is imminent," she said.

“Other extremely powerful models are already being developed in secret by rival states, such as China, or by various private organizations, and their emergence is imminent.”