UK plans National Centre for Information Defence as AI amplifies disinformation threat

The UK Government has begun work on a National Centre for Information Defence to detect, attribute and disrupt hostile-state information attacks as it prepares for artificial intelligence to amplify the threat.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the plans during a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, where he accused Russian agencies of using bots, fake websites, falsified newspaper articles and forged branding from British organisations to spread disinformation.

According to BBC reporting, the Centre will bring together intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and social media companies, while supporting communities in building resilience to disinformation.

Russia Singled Out Over Information Warfare

Burnham said the UK and its allies had experienced an “industrial-scale assault” on their information environments, identifying Russia as a particular source of hostile activity.

The Prime Minister said Russian agencies had forged the branding of 28 British organisations, including universities and the BBC, and claimed the Kremlin spends around £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) each year manipulating information.

“On top of that we have seen cyber-attacks on our companies and institutions,” Burnham said. “And we know that AI will multiply the threat.”

Burnham said the Government would seek to strengthen public resilience to information warfare alongside developing the new Centre, arguing that “security starts in every home”.

He has tasked UK security chiefs with beginning work on the Centre, giving it a remit to “detect, attribute, and disrupt” hostile-state information attacks and defend UK democracy.

Deepfakes Raise the Challenge of Digital Authenticity

Andrew Bud, Founder and CEO of iProov, said the effectiveness of the Centre would depend on its ability to move beyond identifying attacks.

“Deepfakes are becoming too sophisticated and too scalable for the government to rely on individuals or platforms simply spotting fake content after the fact,” he stated.

Bud argued that the Centre should examine the infrastructure supporting information attacks, including how organisations establish whether people, accounts, and online communications are genuine.

He also called for identity verification and deepfake detection to form part of the UK’s defensive strategy alongside intelligence sharing and public education.

That expands the challenge beyond identifying individual pieces of synthetic content towards establishing the authenticity of the identities and communications involved.

Digital Resilience Also Depends on Access and Skills

Burnham’s focus on resilience at household level also raises questions about whether people have the tools and skills needed to navigate AI-enabled information threats.

Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance, cautioned against treating vulnerability to foreign influence primarily as a matter of individual susceptibility.

“If people lack reliable connectivity, the right devices, the skills to navigate online information safely, or the confidence to know what they can trust, they are being asked to participate in a complex digital world without the tools to do so safely,” she said.

Anderson called for digital inclusion to form part of the UK’s resilience planning, including investment in connectivity, devices, digital skills, media literacy and trusted support.

She added that protecting institutions from disinformation needed to be accompanied by measures that enable citizens to participate safely online.

UK and US Plan AI Defence Partnership

Burnham used the same UN speech to announce that the UK and US are developing an AI defence partnership intended to protect critical national infrastructure.

The Prime Minister described AI as both a tool that could improve security and a “multiplier of risk”, arguing that decisions over its development require government involvement.

“Fundamental decisions on this technology are too important to be left to chance,” he stressed.

The partnership extends the Government’s AI security focus beyond information warfare into the protection of infrastructure underpinning essential services. Burnham did not provide further operational details of the partnership in the speech.

UK Seeks Global AI Safety Standards

The Government has said it also intends to put AI at the centre of the UK’s G20 presidency next year, building on the AI meeting convened by King Charles last week.

Burnham stated that the UK would work towards a single set of global principles and standards covering AI safety, transparency and preparedness.

Nick Benson, CEO at CREST, said international principles could provide a baseline, but would need to translate into practical measures.

“Policy goals and voluntary commitments alone aren’t enough to protect AI-enabled systems and critical infrastructure,” said Benson.

Benson also called for technical frameworks backed by independent assurance and practical testing, arguing that organisations deploying or evaluating AI should be able to demonstrate their capabilities and governance against assessable standards.

The announcements have connected several areas of the UK’s developing AI security strategy: hostile-state information operations, cyber resilience, critical infrastructure, and international standards.

AI may change the scale and sophistication of those threats, but the National Centre for Information Defence is being developed against an information-warfare problem the Government says is already active.

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