Major tech companies call for defensive surge to defeat AI-driven hacks

More than 100 firms urged action to secure the digital world before AI-driven threats accelerate

Major tech companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft , Alphabet , and Amazon  are calling for a ​society-wide defensive surge to defeat what they describe ‌as an impending wave of hacks driven by artificial intelligence.

In a joint letter issued Thursday, the companies -- along with more ​than 100 others including Broadcom , Capital One , Cloudflare , ​CrowdStrike , General Motors , IBM , Mastercard , Oracle , Robinhood , Shopify , ⁠and Visa  -- said there was a limited amount of ​time "to make our digital world much more secure" ahead ​of the AI onslaught.

"In the coming months, AI-enabled cyberattacks will become far more widespread as models around the world become increasingly capable," ​the letter said. It called on government and ​industry leaders "to bring the full weight of their technology, resources, and ‌expertise ⁠to this effort."

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It called on governments to expedite trusted access programs, which give certain companies access to more powerful models ahead of the general public, and for all ​other organizations ​to "make cyber defense ⁠an immediate leadership priority."

Fears that advances in AI will supercharge hacking campaigns are beginning ​to be realized as rogue elements increasingly deploy ​large ⁠language models to break into organizations around the world. In June, the world's "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance -- composed of the ⁠US, ​Britain, Canada, Australia, and New ​Zealand -- issued a rare joint statement warning that the AI revolution was poised ​to "fundamentally transform" cybersecurity.