The leaders of the Five Eyes cyber security agencies, representing Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, issued an alert on June 22, 2026, entitled “The AI Shift in Cyber Risk: Why Leaders Must Act Now” urging organizations to a “call to action” to protect against cyber threats both for organizations and society as a whole. The Five Eyes are expressing urgency because artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly changing cyber risk, and organizations need to act fast to keep up. The call to action is informed by the fact that AI can improve cyber defense, but it also makes cyber-attacks faster, larger, and more advanced, including how attacks happen and how organizations can defend against them.
Because of this, the Five Eyes urge that cyber resilience is critical for business continuity, market confidence, and long-term success.
The Five Eyes encourage leaders to:
- understand and assess risks, readiness, and accountability
- focus on basic cybersecurity practices and controls
- stay involved as threats and guidance change
The alert emphasizes how “success for organizations depends on getting the basics right, acting quickly, and making cybersecurity part of the core business strategy.” It stresses that cyber risk is not just a technical issue—it is a business risk and a leadership responsibility.
Boards and executives must ensure systems are resilient and work under pressure. It is not enough to have controls; leaders must know those controls will work during a real incident. This may require rethinking past decisions and using AI carefully to strengthen defenses, not just improve efficiency.
The alert outlines key actions for leaders, including:
- Build systems to be secure from the start and by default
- Do not rely on a single solution—use multiple layers of defense
- Expect new and unknown vulnerabilities as AI evolves, including zero-day risks
It also lists “urgent” practical actions:
- Reduce your attack surface: Limit unnecessary access and external connections. Only expose systems when truly needed.
- Speed up patching: AI is reducing the time between finding and exploiting vulnerabilities. Delays increase risk, especially for older systems.
- Fix legacy systems: Unsupported systems are easy targets and create serious risk.
- Strengthen access controls: Limit who can access critical systems. Use strong authentication and regularly review permissions.
- Prepare for incidents: Test response plans, train teams, and assume breaches will happen. Focus on quick containment and recovery.
It also suggests that leaders use AI to strengthen defense against cyber-attacks. Getting ahead of cyber-attacks when threat actors are using AI requires continued preparedness and the ability to use tools to detect, monitor, and defend against them, including AI tools developed for defense purposes. If ever there was digital warfare, it is now with the proliferation of AI enhanced tools. Leaders of all organizations should review the recommendations by the Five Eyes and implement them for the preparedness of the organization and society.