# Three months from AI bank raids, officials fear > UK security insiders say cheap, unguarded AI models could let ordinary criminals crack bank accounts by winter. - Title: Three months from AI bank raids, officials fear · Dailymail - Summary: UK security insiders say cheap, unguarded AI models could let ordinary criminals crack bank accounts by winter. The cost of a serious cyber attack is… - Keywords: ai safety, cybercrime, banking, national security, china, news, entertainment, Three, months, bank, raids, officials - Source: Dailymail — https://dailymail.com/news/article-16126595/Cyber-criminals-hit-banks-THREE-MONTHS-ai.html?ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490&ns_mchannel=rss - Published: 2026-09-12T23:36:37+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: ai safety, cybercrime, banking, national security, china, news, entertainment ## Three months out Cabinet Office officials warn that criminals are three to five months away from using AI to steal from bank accounts at will. > Cyber criminals are just three months away from being able to use AI to steal at will from bank accounts ## Who is saying this The warning comes from officials working with Britain's AI Security Institute, which tests cutting edge models before they reach the public. ## They see it first Institute insiders get early sight of the newest systems. That vantage point is why their timeline moved forward, not back. ## The nightmare scenario One official called it an AI Armageddon, and said it may arrive sooner than anyone in government previously modelled. > this ‘AI Armageddon’ may become reality sooner than previously thought ## Guardrails you can peel off Chinese labs favour models whose safety features can be stripped away by developers, unlike Western releases. ## What guardrails actually do They block certain words and patterns, or return a refusal, when someone asks how to build a bomb or run a scam. ## Capability goes retail As China ships more advanced models with disableable safety features, small businesses and ordinary people become reachable targets. ## Every hacker gets a tool The official's blunt version: password cracking, financial data theft, corporate data wipes and fraud, all handed to any hacker who wants them. > Every Russian and Nigerian hacker will soon get their hands on technology which will be able to break even the most advanced passwords ## Banks are behind The Financial Stability Institute said this week that banks can no longer respond adequately to this level of technology. ## Hours, not days A paper published last Wednesday said some attack tools are advanced enough that defenders may have only hours to shut an intruder out. > they may only have hours to stop a hacker from breaking in ## Ministers brace for a wave Government expects a deluge of sophisticated attacks and is worried by how fast the underlying technology is improving. ## Targeted interventions Ministers are weighing new rules for national security risks, insisting any move would be proportionate and would not choke growth. ## America shuts the door Anthropic barred Britain's safety institute from testing its latest model, straining relations between the two allies. ## Treated like weapons One AI expert read the block as proof that America now handles its models as state secrets and dangerous weapons. > state secrets and dangerous weapons ## Five bioweapon attempts Anthropic said it stopped five attempts this year to use its Claude model to help make bioweapons. ## The same capability cuts both ways The firm said Claude's biological research skill can drive breakthroughs, and could also help create superbugs capable of killing millions. ## A researcher walks out An Anthropic researcher quit over what he called an out of control AI arms race, saying the big labs are not acting responsibly. ## More than one in ten He put the chance of the technology killing all humans within the next decade at more than 10 per cent. > ‘more than 10 per cent’ chance of the technology killing ‘all humans’ ## Speak up now Campaigner Connor Axiotes called on officials to state their fears publicly, and criticised America for distrusting its closest ally. > Do not be remembered as the person who failed to act. ## What you can do today Government says firms are not defenceless: adopt Cyber Essentials, follow NCSC guidance, and put cyber security on the board agenda. > All firms should be acting urgently to improve their cyber defences ## Key takeaway The cost of a serious cyber attack is collapsing, so treat basic cyber defences as urgent, not as a compliance chore.