One of the UK’s prime spymasters has called for collaborations with the tech industry to counter the challenges posed by rival nations, threat actors, and international terrorists.
Our rivals are investing heavily in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and synthetic biology, and its high time that MI6 should partner with tech industries to enhance its capabilities, Richard Moore, head of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), stated in his first major public speech since taking on the role in October 2020.
“Through the National Security Strategic Investment Fund, we are opening up our mission problems to those with talent in organizations that wouldn’t normally work with national security. I cannot stress enough what a sea-change this is in MI6’s culture, ethos, and way of working, since we have traditionally relied primarily on our own capabilities to develop the world-class technologies, we need to stay secret and deliver against our mission,” Moore stated.
These collaborations will increasingly be required in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, and synthetic biology, into which enemies are “pouring money and ambition” to secure leverage, Moore warned.
Mi6 head lists China, Russia, Iran, and international terrorism as the "Big Four" priorities for the (West's) intelligence world. It’s a challenge made more acute as technology rapidly advances, he said.
“The ‘digital attack surface’ that criminals, terrorists, and hostile states threats seek to exploit against us is growing exponentially. We may experience more technological progress in the next ten years than in the last century, with a disruptive impact equal to the industrial revolution,” Moore argued.
A major part of his speech was focused on China, whose intelligence services Moore claimed were “highly capable” and continue to conduct large-scale espionage operations against the UK and its allies. “We are concerned by the Chinese government’s attempt to distort public discourse and political decision-making across the globe,” Moore added.
Tools such as big data analytics could be a “force multiplier” in serving to automate important jobs and make intelligence analysts extra productive,” James Griffiths, technical director of consultancy Cyber Security Associates explained.
“MI6 is very good at what it does within its own intelligence remit. It has also positively identified that to be the best across the board it needs to leverage the skillset of other organizations that are specialists in key areas, for example AI, machine learning quantum cryptography. By leveraging and working in partnership with these organizations MI6 will increase its overall effectiveness and the wider intelligence community as a whole,” Griffiths stated.